Series: War of the Worlds

Disclaimer: War of the Worlds characters and universe are the

property of Paramount and Ten-Four Productions

Category: Humor

Rating: (mild) PG

Warning: None.

Background: This story was written in response to the Halloween story challenge. Although it does contain the requested items (rabbit's foot, stripper, Jello, dancing aliens, and a team member in an embarrassing position) they are probably not the items in their classic sense.

Debi bound down the stairs, her usual bright disposition marred by a frown. "What's wrong, Deb?" Harrison asked.

"I can't find Socrates. I let him out in my room but the noise Mr. Kensington's making replacing the bathroom tile scared him and he ran away." Her innocent blue eyes blinked at him.

"And Socrates would be?"

She sighed, letting her shoulder's droop. "My bunny. You never listen to me," she whined. "I told you about him yesterday. He's white with a brown spot on his face."

"Oh right, Socrates. He can't have gotten far. I'll help you look."

Harrison and Debi searched the upstairs bedrooms then moved to the main floor of the house, finding nothing they headed downstairs to search the labs. Norton sat in front of the Cray, grinning at the screen. "What ya doing, Norton?" Debi asked, moving to stand behind Gertrude.

"Working on a new Halloween screen saver." He punched a few keys then leaned over a bit to give her a better view. On the monitor three, three-armed aliens in tutu's whirled across the screen, leaping and pirouetting on various spots on the screen.

Debi laughed. "Cool. Where do you come up with this stuff?"

He flashed his pearly whites at her. "A gift."

"While you were hard at work, you didn't happen to see a white rabbit hopping around, did you?" Harrison asked.

Norton rolled his eyes at him. "Been reading Alice in Wonderland again, Harrison?" The astrophysicist frowned at the computer expert.

"No, Socrates got out," Debi told him, leaning on his shoulder. A crash followed by a thud sounded from above. "What was that?" she asked.

"Deeeeebiiiiiii!"

"Socrates," both Harrison and Norton said in union.

They hurried to the upper level of the house, guided by loud voices. They were lead to the upstairs bathroom where Kensington was working. He stood in one corner holding the white rabbit amid scattered and broken bathroom tiles. Ironhorse lay sprawled facedown on the floor with a large hole ripped in the seat of his pants and Suzanne was bent over him examining the damage beneath the tear. Kensington stepped over Ironhorse and handed the rabbit to Debi. He shook his head at the two men.

"What happened?" Harrison asked, eliciting a glare from Ironhorse, who hissed at Suzanne's ministrations.

"Damnedest thing I ever saw," the older man answered. "The Colonel came in to ask if I needed any help. That rabbit hopped in front of him and he stepped aside to avoid it, tripping over my tile stripper." Norton began grinning; glancing at Ironhorse's reddened face. "The stripper flew out from under his foot as he fell into the pile of tile. It landed on the rabbit's foot causing it to leap onto the Colonel. I never would've believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes, but that rabbit let out a grunt then bit the Colonel's backside. I had a devil of a time getting it to let go."

Harrison pursed his lips together and Norton's shoulder's shook as he tried to contain his amusement. Suzanne shot them a nasty look. "It's not funny. It's a serious bite. I'm going to take him to the emergency room. He's going to need stitches and a tetanus shot."

Debi slowly backed out of the room. Suzanne caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. "And as for you, young lady, I'll deal with you when I get back." She wagged her finger at the threesome. "Help me get him to the car."

A few hours later Suzanne and Ironhorse returned. She helped him out of the car, handing him the red, donut-shaped pillow he'd been given at the hospital. He frowned at her and quickly shoved it under his arm then slowly shambled like Frankenstein's monster, toward the house. Suzanne held onto his elbow, gently steadying him as they stopped at the front patio. On either side of the doorway, sat a large pumpkin with a white bunny painted on the front. Each bunny had large blood-dripping fangs protruding from its mouth and a flowing black cape.

Ironhorse rolled his eyes and sighed. "If I hear so much as one snicker I'm going to kill them."

The door flew open and Debi sprang out, cradling Socrates in her arms. "Like 'em?" she asked. "Norton said if we put up the Halloween decorates that it would cheer you up." Her innocent smile belied the mischievous glint in her eyes.

"They're...nice," he grumbled. "Can you put it back in its cage?" He pointed at the bunny in her arms.

"Come on Socrates. You gave me an idea for the story I have to do for class," she told the rabbit who answered with a nose twitch. She turned, going back into the house and bound up the stairs.

They entered the foyer. A crowd cheering on the TV mingled with Harrison and Norton's voices as they drifted from the living room. "Don't you object to this sort of thing?" Norton asked.

"I object to eating Jello. I didn't say anything about women wrestling in it."

Suzanne coughed away a giggle and Ironhorse cleared his throat as he raised his eyebrow. They heard the remote click and silence fell over the house. "I'm going to my room."

The two men entered the hallway in time to see Ironhorse began his pain-racked climb, clutching his inflated red donut. Suzanne shook her head at them then headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

They watched him slowly make his way up the stairs to his room. The two continued to look up as he disappeared at the top. Norton's eyes danced between the stairs and Harrison and the corners of his mouth quirked up.

"Blackwood!" Ironhorse's booming voice reverberated through the cottage.

"Think the Peter Cottontail sheets were a bit much?" Norton asked before doubling over with laughter.

The End