@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ Tuesday, June 17th, 1997 @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ THE HIVE RECIEVES A CALL (1/1) By April Hackett, Unnamed Set just after "Lacroix Makes the First Move" "Hello? Could you hold on for a minute?" Cousin Jen asked, then placed the receiver against her chest. "Is April around?" "I'm not sure she's awake," Gunner replied as he walked through from the east wing. "Oh, she's awake. I saw her a little while ago," Maus replied. "She's probably still upstairs, recovering from the Dark Knighties' bash." "Who are you looking for?" April asked, walking up behind Cousin Jen. "Yew!!!" Jen yelled, "Don't do that!" she complained, as April grinned at her. "Phone," Jennifer said, thrusting the receiver at April and moving toward the bar. "Hello?" "April?" a deep, masculine voice asked. "Nick?" April asked, needing to be assured she wasn't imagining things. "Yes. Listen, I need a favor." "Sure, Nick," April answered, as she became aware of several pairs of ears straining to listen in on her side of the conversation. "I need you to arrange a private get together for me," he said. "Get together? Here?" April asked, as she watched Jennifer and Maus slowly inch closer, their attention firmly on her. "Yes, there'll be two of us arriving soon," Nick continued. "Two," April repeated, as Susan walked in from the kitchen. "Hey, what's going on?" she yelled out, only to be heavily ssshhhed by the others in the room. "Okay, I can do that, Nick," April replied into the receiver. "Nick? Nick's on the phone??" Susan squealed happily. "Will you pipe down? We're trying to listen," Cousin Jen hissed. "Lacroix and I should be there soon. Can you handle things? Nick was saying. "Lacroix," April repeated again. "What about Lacroix?" Cousin Jen exclaimed, growing excited. Shaking herself out of the surprised stupor, April replied, "Okay, Nick. We'll be ready," then hung up the phone. "What's going on? What about Lacroix? Nick's coming here?" all bombarded April as she walked toward the bar, the rest of the UF warriors trailing behind her. "We need to prepare for a couple of visitors," April began to say. "All right!" Susan cheered, interrupting. "Sorry." "Nick asked for a quiet, private place where Lacroix and he could meet," April continued, ignoring the interruption. "They will be here in a short while," she finished. "Both of them? Here? Together??" Gunner asked, surprised. "Lacroix..." Cousin Jen sighed as Susan sighed, "Nick..." "I would suggest someone go... Which room do you want to use?" Maus asked, looking at April. "The library would probably be the best choice," April replied. "Someone needs to make sure the library is straightened up and maybe pull out a couple bottles for our guests". "Yes, someone needs to pull a couple of bottles from the special stock," Maus agreed. "Just make sure one of them is definitely cow," Susan reminded. "How soon will they be here?" Cousin Jen asked again. "'Soon' is all he said," April replied, moving toward the library. "Then we need to get moving!" several voices exclaimed, as everyone began to hurry off to handle the preparations needed. @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ A MEETING ON NEUTRAL GROUND (1/1) By April Hackett and Leslie GrantSmith, Unnamed Set a vampire nap's worth of time after "The Hive Receives a Call" Sukh opened the door to the library, so very, very conscious of the vampire just at her shoulder. It was kind of like ... like having one of the great cats pacing along beside her. She could feel his eyes on her and while that certainly created a certain ... tingle, she really hoped he wasn't hungry. Nick, already in the room, turned from his perusal of the book titles to greet her with a slight smile. Then he turned his gaze to the one beside her, his expression becoming very sober. "Lacroix." "Nicholas. How have you been?" Shifting slightly, Nick answered, "I've been well." His blue eyes intently meeting Lacroix's, he returned the question. "And you?" "Adequate, Nicholas. All in all. Pardon me." Standing stock still in the center of the room, he stated, "I require this room to be ... cleaned. Fumigated, as it were." Sukh glanced around at the perfectly tidy room, then, wondering if somehow this were some kind of clean-freak Lacroix, she said placatingly, "I'll go get a dust cloth." Lacroix turned to gaze at her. "I wasn't speaking to you, Sukh." With that he moved over to the shelves to silently inspect the offerings. With a low hum of pleasure, he plucked one from its place. Bewildered, Sukh looked at Nick, who smiled, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. She left, closing the door, wondering what strange game Lacroix was playing with Nick. A short time later, perhaps 15 minutes, the two vampires heard footsteps in the hall and then a knock on the door. Nick, who had been studying the Renoir on the wall, turned and called, "Come in." Sukh opened the door, slightly pale, and stepped inside. Two men, one resembling a refrigerator and the other a weasel, both in matching well-tailored dark suits, entered. "'Scuse me," said the smaller man, darting nervous glances at Lacroix who was studying him over the top of his book and at the grinning Nick. "Get on with it," Lacroix prodded. The two men quickly moved into the room and removed the tiny, hidden microphones from the phone and the walls. Once done they hurried to the door, where the smaller man paused to speak again. "He said," he stammered, "the Don said to say that he wouldn't have listened. He woulda stopped as soon as the woman left the room." "I know," Lacroix stated, then stared intently at the men. Nick laughed softly as they scurried away, then smiled warmly as yet two more mortals entered the room, pausing a moment on the threshold. A flash of impatience crossed Lacroix's features, then one of self- mocking amusement. "Hi April, and ... Jen, right?" Nick greeted them as they glanced with some concern from him to Lacroix. He looked with interest at the bottles and crystal glasses they had in their hands. "Excuse us, Nick, L-lacroix, we thought you might enjoy some refreshments." April nudged the other woman, and Cuzn Jen started, then moved forward, her dark brown eyes wide and fixed on the ancient vampire. She set the bottle and glass down on the table beside Lacroix's chair. "Thank you, Jen," Lacroix said, smiling slightly, his pale eyes gleaming at the sound of her accelerated heart-rate. "Any time," she replied in her breathy alto, and slowly backed toward the door, torn between her desire to ... study Lacroix intently and to leave him and Nick to their conversation. April crossed to another table, this one beside an armchair set strategically close to the one Lacroix occupied. "Here, Nick. This is for you." "Thanks, April," he said, smiling a bit at her maneuvering to bring Lacroix and himself closer. He heard Lacroix's amused snort. Moving beside her, he picked up the bottle she'd set down and opened it. He sniffed at the contents, and his smile deepened. "Yes, thank you very much." "Okay, um, you're welcome, and we'll get out of your hair," she replied, her heart lifting at his smile. She went quickly to the door, and after one last searching look from both of the women, the door was quietly, firmly closed. "Interfering women," Lacroix murmured. "I believe they have a man among them," Nicholas murmured in reply, as he picked up his glass and filled it from the bottle. Lacroix closed his eyes a moment as the scent of the blood reached him, but he said mildly enough, "Still drinking cow, I perceive." Nick settled into the chair beside him, taking a long drink from his glass. "Yes, most of the time, anyway," Nick replied, downing another mouthful. "Most of the time..?" Lacroix pressed gently, sipping from his own glass. His brows rose and he lifted the glass to gaze at it in some appreciation. "Yes." Nick darted a quick glance at Lacroix. "I have not returned to the hunt. I never will. But Natalie and I agreed, the last time I saw her, that restricting my blood intake hadn't been ... helpful. I drink *donated* human blood. On occasion." Lacroix snorted softly, taking another sip from his own glass, eyes shifting at the mention of Natalie Lambert. "And the good doctor, how is she?" "I haven't seen her in a year," Nick replied softly. "Just after she got out of the hospital." He paused. "I want to thank you for that. For taking her there that night." "It wasn't for her sake, trust me." "I know," Nick assured him. "And I do." Lacroix blinked slowly, then turned his head to study Nick's face. "Why?" Nick took a breath. "Because of ... what you did. For me." Lacroix grimaced, quickly looking away. Nick's hand crept to the center of his chest and he inhaled deeply. "I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have asked that of you." "Why did you?" Lacroix asked, swirling the contents of his glass. "Because I trusted you to do it. Why ... did you do it?" "Because you trusted me to do it. And..." "Yes." Nick reached over to gently rest his hand on Lacroix's forearm. "You are, you know. My closest friend." Lacroix rose, glass in hand, stepping away from Nick. Nick stood as well, following a pace before stopping, gazing intently at the other's stony profile. "But you would not have returned to me, no matter how loud my ... requests, no matter how much of my blood I poured into that wound..." He drew in a deep breath. "Unless, upon realizing the woman had life in her yet, I hadn't promised..." He smiled wryly. "That is, *threatened* to take her to hospital." "No," Nicholas replied gently. "No. I had promised her we'd be together. Though I could not have made it back without your blood, your words, our ... bond showing me the way." He wriggled his shoulders, hand in the center of his chest, and smiled ruefully. "It was a pretty damn good shot. Dead on, as they say." "And that promise now?" "She ... released me. We both learned something about releasing those we love." He took a sip from his glass to cover a still healing pain. "From you." The two men stood in silence a moment, before Lacroix moved on to his next concern, turning once again to face Nicholas fully. "And your search..?" he inquired softly. Nick shot him a sharp look. "I haven't stopped searching." "For a 'cure,'" Lacroix drawled rather bitterly. "For redemption," Nick replied firmly. "Nicholas..." Lacroix began, impatience coloring his tone. "I'm not going to argue about it," Nick stated, refusing to let himself lose his temper. He turned away, unwilling to let himself be goaded by the disapproving expression he was sure Lacroix wore. "If you want to be together, you will have to accept that. Accept *me*." Lowering and turning his head slightly to look at him from the corner of his eye, he reminded Lacroix softly, "You were, you know. Beginning to accept me for who I am, not who you wanted me to be. I've missed the closeness we were starting to develop. I'd like to regain that." He turned, facing Lacroix, staring directly into his eyes. "I've missed you, father." Lacroix searched his face a long moment. Nick could feel a gentle, yet intense strumming in their connection. Then, slowly Lacroix raised his hand, placing it very lightly on Nick's shoulder. "And I you, Nicholas. And I you." Nick set his hand over Lacroix's, equally lightly. "Can we pick up where we left off? Can you accept me just as I am, Lacroix?" Lacroix lowered his hand, though he continued to look directly into Nick's face. "Can you accept *me* just as I am, Nicholas?" "What do you mean?" Nick queried, though he had a good idea where this was going, and wasn't quite ready to deal with it yet. "I am a killer, Nicholas," Lacroix stated quietly, insistently. "As are you. The ultimate predator. And unlike you, I have no desire to change that; that core of who and what I am. Can you accept that?" Nick hesitated, though he would not look away. "I ... need... I think *we* need a little more time. We need to think and talk. Will ... can you do that? Give us the time we need?" Lacroix smiled slightly. "We have all the time in the world, Nicholas." @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ CAFFEINE AND CONVERSATION (1/1) By Michelle David, Laurey Breidenthal and Leslie GrantSmith, Unnamed Set during and after "A Meeting on Neutral Ground" Cuzn Jen and April entered the nearly-completed coffee shop in a daze. Michelle, the resident coffee aficionado, handed each a mug. Each sank onto a plush chair. "So?" Jules demanded, fiddling impatiently with a honey stick. April languidly raised her head and smiled at Jules. "Mph," was her only response as she lifted the mug to her mouth. The entire UF was congregated in the large coffee shop, tension high. Each person had the drink of choice - mostly coffee due to the prolonged night - in their hands and were glancing around nervously. "What do you think they're talking about in there?" Jennifer asked. "We can only speculate," said Julia, idly stirring her cup of latte. "What's interesting, though, is how normal they are." "Yeah, normal," Leslie echoed, her face thoughtful. "That's the weird part." "I'd call it a blessing," said Gunner. "We're not hitched with one of those strange Nicks or Lacroixs." "Exactly," replied Leslie. "I mean, our guys aren't from the Twilight Zone, they're almost canon." "How can you be sure?" said Susan. "I know when April and I saw Nick at the planetarium we were convinced it was the real one, but I'm willing to bet everyone thought that. Unless, say, your character was a different species." "How about in the hotel, Leslie?" asked April. "What was your initial impression?" Leslie thought for a moment, taking a sip of her cappucino. "Well, since we'd already read the other war posts I was prepared for anything out there. I didn't assume he was the one I knew from War 7, because since I played as a Cousin then, he'd be ready to punish me as a UFer. At least, I was afraid of that." "Also, he didn't make any comments about honey and wine," sang Jules, a smirk on her face. "Even if last time he did recognize it," Jennifer said, referring to in the last war, in which Leslie had been forced by unusual circumstances to give a jar of honey to Uncle. "Oh, shut up," Leslie said, smiling. "This really not something I want to think about. Needless to say, when Lacroix enters, I exit. Stage left and quickly. Just in case." "I think they're post-LK," Kelly mused. "Why?" asked Michelle. Kelly made a gesture in the direction of the library off in the East Wing, waving her honey swizzle stick. "Why else would they request to be on neutral ground?" she asked. "Not unless something big and bad happened and neither one wanted violence." "Also, in the third season, they were really reaching an understanding," Jennifer added. "You know, AtA, NiQ." "Last Knight," Sukh sighed sadly over her cup of French Vanilla. "Yeah," said Cuzn Jen, out of her trance from finally meeting the General Himself. "Definitely UFfish," Laurey chimed in. Perry and Tybalt wagged their tails in agreement. "I dunno," said Michelle. "This isn't really neutral ground. It's part of the UF's HQ." "It's in a nice area," said Susan. Maus frowned and looked up from her laptop. "We're uncomfortably close to the Perks HQ. They're at 56 Hudson Drive; this is two blocks off, 28 Highlander." "Highlander?" asked Julia, an eyebrow raised. "It's the closest to a crossover we're getting," said Maus, shrugging. They sat and sipped in silence for a while, their thoughts focused on the two vampires in the library. The room was some distance from the their cafe-in-progress, and the walls in between were thick and sound-proofed. But many ears were cocked for the sound of raised voices or the thud of vampire bodies hitting the shelves or walls with force. Leslie and Julia began a worried discussion about whether they should have removed some of the rarer volumes from the room before the Guys had shown up. "When they do come out," mused Sukh, "we should probably not ... bother them. I mean, they might be tense or something. I know you guys would all like to talk to them and stuff, and it was really cool the way you hung out in here when they came in. To let them have their space. But ... well ... let's see what *they* do." As eager as they all were to have a chance to talk to *their* Guys, the UFfers all nodded their agreement. *If* these two vampires really were reaching some kind of accord, they didn't want to do *anything* that might upset them, distract them from what was most important. Though. War was on. Something was really out of kilter with the Earth, and maybe Nick and Lacroix... well, Nick anyway, would be willing to help. Much coffee and a shared case of the jitters encouraged a rather regular flow of visitors to the bathroom. Eventually even Tybalt, Laurey's Schipperke, got into the act, demanding to be taken for a walk. Laurey sighed, snapped on his lead, and with one last glance in the direction of the library, headed out the door. Perry followed her exit with his eyes, but as Gunner was expertly skritching behind his ears, he elected to stay. After all, he had given up the habit. "Y'know, it's weird," commented Gunner, "petting Perry. Like you expect him to be warm under his fur, but he's cool, but he's supple, so it's not like touching something dead." Several hands reached out to confirm his observation, and it was then that Nick stepped into the doorway of the cafe, Lacroix standing behind his left shoulder. The UFfers all froze for a moment, then there was a flurry of movement as they all stood up. Leslie made a dash for the bathroom and was not seen again for the rest of the evening. April and Susan cast concerned glances up and down Nick's form, looking for signs of a battle and were relieved to find none. They smiled at him and his answering smile was warm, though his eyes remained serious. He stepped further into the room, walking up to the tables the group stood around. Lacroix hesitated, then followed him a pace, then stopped, waiting to see what Nicholas was about. "Thank you for giving us a space to talk, everyone." Nick glanced back at Lacroix. "Much more congenial than some drafty roof-top somewhere." Nick smiled at Lacroix's amused grunt, then turned his smile on the UFfers, who all unconsciously grinned back. "Anytime," Sukh assured Nick, glancing at Lacroix, who was studying the group with his cool blue gaze. "After all, this is your ... well, maybe not *home*, but it is your place too." "Thanks, we both appreciate that." "Yes," agreed Lacroix, startling them all. His lips quirked up in a small smile. At that, Perry rose and paced over to look at the ancient vampire, his expression intent. Gravely he looked into Lacroix's eyes. Lacroix stared at the dog for a moment with an expression of distaste, then he raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at the group standing a respectful distance away. "I see. A carouche's leavings? How did you acquire such a pet?" No one answered for a moment, then Gunner said, just the barest hint of defensiveness in his voice, "His name's Perry, and he found us. He came with Laurey." As if on cue, the door to the room opened, and Laurey came in, unsnapping Tybalt's leash, saying "There, you happy?" Free of his leash, Tybalt galloped up to Lacroix and stood in front of him looking up, his eyes bright in his foxy face. His stub of a tail was wagging furiously. Laurey rolled her eyes, recognizing Tyb's "casing a stranger for degree of likelihood to dispense snacks" routine. She also knew that Lacroix was most likely not a lover of small cute dogs. Or any dogs. Bravely, she darted forward and snatched up the astonished Schipperke, muttering "C'mere, stupid." A small wintry smile crossed Lacroix's face. "How interesting. The last time I saw one of those it was hanging from the seat of Nicholas' breeches by its teeth. Quite a few of them around in Nicholas' home province, I remember. Pity they aren't larger, they'd be quite formidable." Nick grinned at the memory. "My best pair of breeches, too. And they're formidable enough, thank you very much." Laurey smiled at them both, then turned and walked to the bar, suddenly overcome by shyness. She really wanted to talk to Lacroix, but couldn't quite get the nerve up yet to engage him in conversation. `He knows so much, he's been around so long ... he was in Europe when aurochs were *common*!' she thought eagerly. She was dying to ask him what aurochs had been like, how they had behaved, what quagga and great auks and moas and maybe even dodos had been like. He'd been in America in the 1800's and had seen the massive flights of passenger pigeons that had taken two days and two nights to pass over a single spot. And he could fly ... what was that like? She came out of her trance, and realized that Lacroix, having deigned to accept a drink, stood with a glass in one hand, chatting politely with a respectful group of UFfers. He occasionally shot a glance at Nick, who met it with his slanting, mischievous smile, while he continued his own conversation with a number of the remaining Unnamed. Laurey snickered a bit, seeing the ancient vampire momentarily constrained by his son's insistence on accepting the faction's hospitality for a time. Lacroix turned his gaze on her, and she realized he'd heard her. At the same time she noticed Tybalt gnawing at her hand, just hard enough to pinch, which meant "Mom, I really want to get down now." "I'm going to go check the oil in the Porsche. Tyb, Perry, c'mon. I'll be back guys." Get a grip, woman, she told herself, as she hastened out the door. Eventually, the talk wound down, dampened somewhat by Lacroix growing impatience to leave. Reluctantly, though not wanting to be importunate, the Unnamed said their good-byes and Lacroix and Nick left. The mortals watched with some curiosity as the two vampires lifted into the sky outside their front door. "What do you think they're going to do now?" asked Wendy Marie. "They didn't seem completely at ease, did they. I mean, they clearly weren't hostile, but they ... *felt*, I dunno, still cautious with each other," Michelle said. "It could have been us," Julia commented. "Maybe they weren't quite at ease around us." "No, I think Michelle is right. I don't think things are all settled with them yet," said Jennifer. "With these two guys, will anything ever be settled?" Kelly put in. The Unnamed nodded, acknowledging that the Relationship was not a simple one and headed back into the Hive. "Maybe someone should go tell Leslie she can come out of the bathroom now," said Cuzn Jen. There was a moment of silence, then a chorused, "Naaahhhh." @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ Wednesday, June 18th, 1997 @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ TO RIFT OR TO WRITE... (1/1) by April Hackett, Susan Field and Kelly Green, with much appreciated assistance from Leslie Grant-Smith and the rest of the UF Warriors Time: after The Hive Receives A Call Kelly wandered slowly down the stairs, pulling a thick red flannel coat on as she descended. She supposed to everyone else the temperature of the Toronto night was comfortable, but she was a desert dweller, and these temperatures felt like late autumn. Her blood sugar was dropping, and she wondered where she could lay into a supply of chocolate covered expresso beans. No doubt the Mercs would know. After talking on the phone to Don Constantine, she knew she needed to find some of the UF members still here and work on a plan to deal with this time rift. Even with Don Constantine's promise of co-operation, working out all the problems was going to be difficult. Kelly heard quiet voices chatting in the bar below her, so she headed that way. The voices carried up the stairs as Kelly approached. "There has to be a reason for it. Things just don't happen like that!" one voice declared. Kelly thought that sounded like April. "Maybe it's tachyon waves?" That was Susan. "Figures," Kelly muttered, knowing if April was around, then Susan wasn't too far away. "Tachyon waves?" a third voice asked. Kelly came around the bottom of the stairs and saw Maus leaning forward, looking at Susan strangely. "Well, on Star Trek, nine times out of ten, the universe goes awry because of tachyon waves," Susan replied as she reached for her glass of milk. "And tachyon waves are?" April asked with a smile lighting her face. "An overused plot device?" Susan quipped deadpan, as her traveling buddies cracked up. "Hi guys. What's going on?" Kelly asked, pulling a seat out and plopping down. "Shooting the..." April began to say, as she handed the pull tab in Kelly when she sat down. "Don't say it! It's supposed to be PG, you know," Maus declared hurriedly. "Oh, right," April returned, taking a swig on her Mt. Dew. "We were talking about the time rift," Susan said, smiling. "I suggested tachyons, but I like your 'administratium' theory better. At least it's never been used." Administratium. In a twisted sort of way it made as much sense as anything did anymore. They shifted around uncomfortably, mulling over the implications. Then Maus, looking sheepish, shook her head. "No, there's one problem with that theory," she said regretfully. "Why didn't critical mass occur in the U.S. Congress? I mean, if administratium were to reach critical mass *anywhere*, it would be *there*." She leaned back with her arms crossed, the perfect skeptic, daring the others to explain that. Another moment of silence ensued. Finally Toby hesitated a response. "Well," he said, clearing his throat a little, "Isn't it obvious?" He looked at the gallery of women around him expectantly, then continued. "Hot air. There's so much hot air in Congress that, by volume, there must not be quite enough *room* for the administratium to reach critical mass. It's got to be the hot air." His voice trailed off as heads began nodding in agreement. "Who'd have thought it? Hot air might actually serve a useful purpose," Maus mussed. "I mean - can you imagine if critical mass *had* occurred in the Congress? The --" "Maus, stop it! I don't want to go there!" April insisted, shuddering. "That's one step too far, even for this faction." Kelly interrupted, "She's right. We might be UFfers, but we draw the line at Congressional clones. And, she added, her teacher instincts kicking in, "We're off task. We need to come up with a plan - contact people in the other factions." "Maybe...," Maus mused aloud, then looked around the table. "Did you hear what Gunner saw when he was out earlier? "No, what?" April asked. "He saw a huge pile of KtK flyers laying everywhere. I was wondering... "Yes?" Susan prompted, coming back to the table with another milk. "I wonder if we rounded up a whole lot of those flyers and managed to get them to the desks of TPTB signed by as many FK fans as possible, then maybe that would dispense some of the 'administratium' that is clogging up the system," Maus finished. "Do you think that would help?" Susan asked. "According to my snooping, TPTB have been unusually dense during the last year. What with all the crazy ideas that have been bouncing back and forth in their mainframe about Forever Knight, those offices must be positively crammed with 'administratium'. It's going to take a whole lot of letters piling up in the offices to force the stuff out of the there," Maus stated, as the rest of us quickly brightened as we realized what the end result of this campaign would bring. "Yes!!! More FK!" we all exclaimed, high fiving each other. "If we can accomplish this and convince TPTB to start up Forever Knight again, then that might just suck all these extra characters back into whatever void they came from," April said. "Yeah, like TPTB's imagination, you mean?" Susan sang out, laughing. As the laughter died down from that comment, Toby perked up and said, "Then what are we waiting for. Let's get going." With a buzz of excitement, the Hive swarmed, each with a task in mind. @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ PRET A PORTER (1/2) By Jennifer Brown-Chartier Thanks to April for beta reading "I'm going shopping." Jennifer announced between sips of her tea. "Anyone wanna come?" "I'll come." volunteered Kelly. "Gotta pick up stuff." "Me too," added Leslie. "Let me grab a bite to eat first." "It's a good thing we're taking your van." Jennifer muttered, staring at her hastily scribbled list: drinks, motor oil, duct tape, ropes, flash lights, food for the pets and... a feather boa? "So where are we going?" demanded Leslie, sliding into the driver's seat. "Canadian Tire, Price Club and The Eaton Centre," replied Jennifer, squeezing next to Kelly. "You better not puke on me," Jennifer warned. She had heard rumours that Kelly was suppose to be car sick. "I'm in the front. I'll be okay," Kelly said, buckling up. "Do you know where these places are?" Leslie asked. "Kinda." Leslie moaned and gripped the steering wheel. She knew that Jennifer was "map challenged." The girl could get lost looking for a loaf of bread if she wasn't careful. Hell, she had even gotten lost in the Hive. It was a good thing that Perry had found her otherwise she would be still lost. "Listen, Canadian Tire and Price Club are in the same mall right before the highway, on our side of the road. We can't miss it. The Eaton Centre has really huge signs on the highway. Worse comes to worse, we'll ask someone." "Knowing your luck it will be a Cousin and we'll end up in Sarina," Kelly muttered darkly. They were standing the worldest slowest line when Leslie realized that she had forgotten something. She came back almost 15 minutes later. "Did you get lost?" Jennifer asked cheerfully, snatching the magazine from Leslie's hands and giving it to the cashier. "No, that's your job. You're not going to beleive this." Leslie said, changing topics. "What?" asked Jennifer and Kelly. "I checked out the honey section, and there's nothing to be found. According to the stock boy, some poeple came in yesterday and bought everything." "Call Maus or Sukh. Maybe someone raided the place yesterday," said Kelly, helping the cashier pack up the boxes aas Jennifer rapidly punched in her pin number. A call to Maus revealed that no one had bought any honey from Price Club. "Hmm. I say that someone is stocking up." Kelly said. =\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\ Two wrong turns and an hour later they were wandering around the Eaton Centre. All the stores were palstered with sale signs. Thousands of people were shopping. The trio had counted at least 7 Nicks, 5 LaCroixs and 3 Janettes. "Any place in particular you're looking for?" asked Leslie, finishing her ice cream. "The House of Chanel." Jennifer said reverently, her eyes glazing over fond remembering the last episode of The Fashion Files on CBC. She was a huge fan of Jean-Paul Gauthier. "I just love that place." "What's wrong with The Gap or Le Chateau?" demanded Leslie, who did a lot of her shopping at both stores. Jennifer came to a complete stop, heedless of the people around her. "The Gap? Le Chateau? Let me tell you what I think about North American fashions. It SUCKS. No sense or style or elan," she shouted, clearly getting worked up. "For the love of God, some people think that 1960's or 1970's retro clothing is cool. Those people should be tied down to a chair and forced to watch "The Best of Chanel over and over again." "Okay, okay calm down. Jennifer. It was just an idea." Leslie said soothingly. Wided eyed, Kelly just looked at her. Jennifer took a couple of deep breaths and gave them a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Fashion is a very touchy subject with me." "No kidding." Five minutes later, they were inside the House of Chanel. Jennifer had jumped on a saleswoman and was happily trying on several outfits. "My God, look at these prices. Most of these oufits cost more than I make in one month." Kelly said in an awed voice. "Man, I can't believe that she would spend that much money on an outfit. I don't even spend this much money on clothes in one year." "Hey guys, what to ya think?" Jennifer asked coming out of the changing room. She was wearing a plum colour sleeveless silk dress, with a deep neck line. Simple but stunning. "Kewl dress, Jennifer." @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ PRET A PORTER (2/2) By Jennifer Brown-Chartier Ten minutes later, they were walking back downstairs when they heard a loud commotion coming from the lower floor. They leaned over the railing and looked down. There seemed to be a frenzy of people in front of one store. They went down to investigate. The store in question was called "Summer of Love" and several men and women were eagerly buying tie-dye shirts, platform shoes, polyster suits, or bell bottoms. It was Jennifer's worst nightmare. "Oh my God!!" gasped Jennifer looking horrorified. "These people need help. Lots of help." Before she could stop herself, she grabbed the arm of a man. "You can't wear that." The article in question was a neon green Hawaiian shirt. The man shook her off and ran into the store. "Oh Don will LOVE this!" squealed a woman, holding up a white t-shirt with the words Disco King embossed on it. The trio went cold and looked at each other. "Don?" Kelly said weakly has Leslie looked witsfully at a blue Hawaiian shirt. Jennifer's eyes started to bulge with outrage. "Oh man! Eight track cassettes. This is groovy!" Jennifer began to make choking noises and Leslie had to stifle a smile. Poor Jennifer looked like she was going to have a fit any second. "Excuse me, do you mean Don Schanke." Kelly said slowly, looking at Jennifer. Her face had turned bright red and she was gasping for breath. "Yeah. Do you know him?'" the woman demanded. "I've, hmm, read about him in the paper." Kelly said carefully, backing away from her. She looked at Leslie and Jennifer. "You people are out of your bloody minds. If there was such a thing has the fashion police, I would have you all arrested and forced to watch the Best of Chanel over and over again. You people need help. In fact-" Leslie clamped her hand over Jennifer's mouth and Kelly grabbed her arms. "Sorry. She's a fashion critic. She feel very strongly about this stuff." Oh, well to each his own." she said. "Oh look at this," holding up a faux fur blue jacket. "This would look really good on your friend." They gently led a whimpering Jennifer away. =\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\ One wrong turn and an hour later, they pushed Jennifer into the private bar at the Hive. Everyone looked up in surprise and then alarm at Jennifer's white face. "April!" Jennifer needs a drink and she needs it now." Leslie barked. April poured her a generous shot of Jack Daniels and another and another. "My God, what the hell happened? You have a run in with the Cousins, Natpackers, Perks? What?" Julz demanded, grabbing a handful of peanuts. "It was horrible, just horrible," Jennifer muttered over and over again, tossing back another drink. "What happened???" everyone shouted at Leslie and Kelly. They looked at each other and grinned. "Well, we kinda had a run in with the FODs. They didn't attack us or anything, Sukh. They just really upset her sense of fashion. Lots of 60' and 70's stuff. She really didn't like it." "Horrible, just horrible." Jennifer slurred over and over again. Finis @==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@ End Part 3, 17-18. Continued in Part 4, 19-20