The smell of coffee filters from the kitchen into the living room as the pot percolates. James Crane sits at the kitchen table with his son Ethan, who at this time is holding his son Alexander. Radar, sits at Ethan's feet refusing to let the little boy escape his sight.
"So any ideas of what she's going to look like?" James asks as he looks over his shoulder at the coffee pot.
"No idea. We talked about a few ideas but she said she would come up with something." Ethan says.
Gwen stands in front of the full-length mirror in she and Ethan's room, looking at her reflection with a scrutinizing expression on her face.
'Well...if Ethan has to be different in public, here's my chance to prove I can do it, too...' she thinks with a sigh.
Soon after Alexander's birth, Gwen realized that as much as she wanted to keep Alex hidden away in the cave beneath the house he was going to need to go to public school in about 5 years. Not only for academic reasons, but more importantly for social reasons! So she got to thinking about it, and finally came to the conclusion that Ethan Crane needed to have a "wife"-- especially considering how she's always coming in and out of the house...one day someone would notice and ask about the tall, blonde Amazon living here and put two and two together! Not that Gwen can help fix the "tall" or the "Amazon," but she CAN help fix the "blonde!"
Yes, Alex would need a mother who could go to parent/teacher conferences...go to games or school plays...maybe even...*gulp* PTA meetings!.....NAH!!
Gwen grins to herself as she turns and walks out of the bedroom. 'I hope I can stand this...I'm going to have to play this part for a loooong time!' she thinks to herself.
Gwen descends into the kitchen, seeing the guys all sitting around the table. "OK, what do you think?" she asks, holding her hands up.
Gwen's wearing actual designer fitted blue jeans-- not baggy pants-- with sandals-- not gym shoes-- and a stylish shirt-- not a tank top or T-shirt-- and *gasp* she's wearing make-up! And EARRINGS!! Her EuFiber has wrapped around each strand of her hair, making it appear dark brown, and...she's STYLED it with...A CURLING IRON!!
Gwen looks at everyone with her lips pressed tightly together, just waiting for the first wise-crack!
"I think I need to know your name young missy?" James says with a big smile.
Ethan sits there with his jaw nearly on the floor. He blinks for a moment and then stands up. "Wow...you look...wow..." is pretty much all he can manage.
Radar looks up from the floor. Oh it's Gwen," he thinks. He whuffs at her in acknowledgement and lays his head back down.
Gwen's eyebrows raise, hands still frozen in her pose, as she looks around at everyone. 'Wow! That went a lot better than I thought it would!' she thinks in amazement. She's just used to expecting the treatment she used to get from her big brothers! They would be rolling on the ground, holding their sides from laughter about now!
She smiles and does a couple of poses for everyone, winking at Ethan in gratitude for his better-than-good reaction to her new look!
"OK, my name is Victoria Crane, but everyone calls me Vicky, and I'm a stunt double, and me and Ethan met when he was representing a client in a TV show I was working on and he had to ask me some questions and it was love at first sight!" she grins, getting her story out in a rush. "So that's why I'm always in and out, rushing around!" she concludes.
"Now that's some thinking," James says nodding in approval. "Good story, Gwe- I mean Vicky. So is that your full-time name now?"
"GOD no! Please keep calling me Gwen in private!" she begs James, pressing her hands together as if she were praying. "Well...call me 'Vicky' when I have brown hair, and call me 'Gwen' when I have blonde hair. That should prevent confusion!"
James gives the ok sign. "Ok Vicky," he says and pours himself some coffee. "So where are you taking my son out to tonight, Vicky?" he says trying to be annoying.
Gwen narrows her eyes at James and folds her arms.
Ethan just looks her up and down with that goofy smile of his. "Gwen you look...great! I mean really great." He says. "I uh...Vicky huh...I can get used to that."
Gwen gives Ethan a sideways smile and walks over to him slowly, and then circles him. "Careful...I'm starting to get jealous of 'Vicky' already! You haven't looked at me like that since our first date!" she teases him.
Ethan smiles. "No no, Vicky. It's just that...it's so..."
"Vicky-like?" James says.
"'So different' is what I was going to say. But yes very Vicky." Ethan says.
Gwen smirks and shakes her head slowly. "All right, I think I've had about enough from Grandpa tonight! Let's go!" she says, sticking her tongue out at James.
She looks down at Alex. "Hey Alex!" she coos. "You don't like Vicky-mom better than Gwen-mom...DO you?" she asks worriedly. Then she quickly shakes her head. "Nevermind...don't tell me!" she grins. "OK, husband, let's get this show on the road!" she says, taking Alex from Ethan and handing him over to James under Radar's watchful eye.
"Wait--" she says, putting her hand on Ethan's arm. "PLEASE don't tell me I'm married to goofy-Ethan! You didn't act and talk like that when you were growing up here...did you??" she asks worriedly.
"Talk like what?" Ethan asks pushing his glasses up. He gives her a wink. "No no. I was very much...the same Ethan you know. Now you ready?" he asks digging out the keys to the truck.
Gwen exhales in relief. "GOOD!" she grins, giving him a chuck in the arm. "And yes, I'm ready to go! This is going to be an interesting night! But it will be nice to finally see this town I've been hiding out in for the past 2 years! See where you grew up and all that..." she grins.
"Well then there's only one place to go. Suzie's Diner. It used to be where all of us used to hang out when we were kids. Me, Kev, Debbie, Ash and the rest of the gang." Ethan says. "I can't believe I haven't taken you there yet."
"Debbie, huh?" Gwen grins, raising an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I want to hear more about your friends and your teenage-years and all that! Ooh...whatever happened to that ex-girlfriend? Does she still live here?" she asks, rubbing her hands together and grinning evilly.
"No she moved awhile back to LA." Ethan says. "But most of the gang is all here."
"Grampa?" James asks. "Grampa?" He says to Alex holding him in his arms. "Did you hear what Mommy called me?"
"Careful, or I'll change it to 'Gramps!'" Gwen calls over her shoulder playfully. "Take good care of Alex and Gramps, OK Radar?"
James humphs and turns his back. Radar whuffs and stands up and sits looking dignified.
Ethan opens the door for Vicky and the two walk out waving to James and Radar. Ethan opens the passenger side door for Vicky and then gets in the cab. He starts up the truck and off they go down the driveway towards Littleton.
"It's about a ten minute drive into town. I used to go into town a lot once I got my drivers license." Ethan says.
Gwen grins. "You mean you used to DRIVE into town once you got your license, but I bet you secretly flew into town a lot before that!" Gwen pauses.
"How did you learn you could fly? That was one of the LAST powers I found out I had, and it was on accident! I was really depressed after I erupted and lost everything. I sat in Pete's apartment day after day, staring at the walls. I finally started driving his then-girlfriend crazy because they could never have any alone-time, so Pete arranged for me to go bungee-jumping with some of his buddies to get me out of the house. Let's just say that I jumped off, hoping the rope would snap and I'd plummet to my death, and the next thing I knew I wasn't falling anymore...I was floating! I'd stopped myself from falling! It was exhilarating! And it saved me from going crazy! Once I realized I could fly I was suddenly excited about being alive again! I used to fly all over the place to work out my depression! Wait...did you said your ex is in L.A.?" she asks, going off-topic. "Now that's just a little ironic...don't you think?" she grins. "We might still have the chance to rub US in her face, tee-hee!" she wiggles her eyebrows.
"No no, Gwen let's leave her be alright," Ethan says. "I found out fairly young that I could fly. I was working on the roof with my dad one day and one of the shingles gave way and I feel off the roof. Needless to say I stopped just a few feet from the ground." He says. Ethan smiles. "Yeah I like to fly too."
Gwen smiles at him and rubs his arm. This is nice! This feels like when they first started going out!
"So were you involved in any specific clubs or activities in high school? I can't believe we're just talking about this now!" she laughs. "We did a lot of things backwards in this relationship, but that's OK! We've got plenty of time to make up for it. Hey-- we should go find a secluded place and make-out in the truck after dinner!" she grins.
Ethan chuckles. "Now that is backwards," he says with a wink. "Umm I wasn't allowed to play sports because of how strong and fast I was. But I was part of the future farmers of America, and the debate club and the yearbook." He says. "I thought I was going to stay here in Kansas and take over the farm for my dad."
Gwen's eyebrows raise higher and higher and her smile gets bigger and bigger.
"Future Farmers, huh? So even with all your powers, you really thought you'd never leave the farm? Isn't it mind-boggling that Supreme was never a jock...he was the intellectual one? It's very interesting!" she grins. "Well, you definitely get to put your debate-skills to good use in our marriage!" she winks. "Even though most of the time you probably feel like you're debating with a brick wall!" She pauses. "Actually...you DID end up back in Kansas, taking over the farm for your father! In a way! OK, I'm just rambling! So did you have any enemies growing up? Anyone who picked on you?" she asks curiously.
"No, not so much." Ethan says. He turns down a road and Gwen can see the lights from town. "I kept to myself a lot from the bullies so...I was never bothered by them." Ethan looks askance at her.
"Why, did you have a bully?"
Gwen makes a non-committal noise and gives a little shrug, riding quietly for a while. After a while she finally starts talking again.
"I wouldn't exactly call them 'bullies.'" she says, and goes quiet again for a while. "The preppy popular girls didn't approve of how I dressed and carried myself, or that I was really tall and lifted weights and was good at sports. There was something about me that...offended them. And they let me know that all the time with their snide little remarks. Like, when I'd walk past them on my way to class they'd ask if I forgot to change my clothes after gym class...shit like that..." Gwen says, looking out the window. "I'd ignore them, or I'd fix this look of pure hatred on them as I passed, and that would shut them up long enough for me to get down the hall before I'd hear them whispering and giggling again. Everyone else seemed to think I was god's gift to the school, but not them. Maybe they were jealous that I could be popular and not give a damn how I looked."
"I had a HUGE crush on one of the football players, and when I asked him out and he said yes I was SO excited! We went out a few times, and I thought things were going great, and then suddenly he started avoiding me. I found out later that my little circle of Gwen-haters---who happened to mostly be cheerleaders--- had gotten to him and said that people were laughing behind his back because he was dating someone who was almost as big and strong as he was. It was all lies. No one was laughing. But they didn't want me to be happy. They didn't think I was good enough to be dating one of 'their' football players. So they freaked him out and he never spoke another word to me."
"Oh but the next time those girls called out something to me I snapped. I beat the shit out of their ringleader and started going for the next one when some of my teammates found us and pulled me off of them. I was suspended for a little while...to 'calm myself down.' When I came back to school the girls didn't giggle at me anymore. They'd cower together like fucking chickens and watch me with big eyes as I passed. They started calling me 'barbarian' and names like that behind my back, but I didn't mind that! Actually, I liked it! People gave me a lot of space after that, so I threw myself into training and gave up the social scene..."
Gwen's eyes are faraway as she stares out into the night. Finally she blinks and looks back at Ethan and gives a little laugh. "Now do you understand why I didn't like Slider when I first met her? I thought she was one of 'them.' Boy would I like to take you to my 10-year high school reunion!" she suddenly grins.
Ethan watches Gwen relates her story to him and he nods and listens patiently. When she finishes her nods. "That's a helluva story Gwen. You've never told that one to me." he says. "Kids can be cruel. Especially teenage popular girls." He says. "We had popular people, too, in our school, but I never really bothered with them."
Gwen nods and looks back out the window again. "Yeah, so when you ask what makes me mad...what fuels my temper...the answer is a lot more complicated that you think. It goes back many, many years...and everything that happened in high school still affects me to this day. Like...I've never had a guy ask me out. It's always ME who approaches the guy first. Even with you. And when I got the courage to ask Andre out and he said I was 'too much woman' for him, you can see why I took that so hard. And when Raoul called me 'barbarian,' it actually hurt my feelings, and I just realized why. I'd been wondering about that. It's because that's what those girls called me. I wouldn't have cared if it weren't for that. That's why I jumped on it when Playboy asked me to pose. Someone thinks 'I'M' sexy?? No way do I turn THAT down!" Gwen gives a bitter little laugh and resumes looking out the window. She didn't mean to bring the mood down, but now she's brooding.
"Sorry..." she mutters under her breath.
Ethan looks over at her and smiles. "It's ok, Gwen. It's good to hear you talk about this. Maybe if you talk about it you can resolve those feelings." He says as he turns the truck into the parking lot.
"Well here we are Suzie's." he says motioning towards the neon sign. "Best pie you'll ever have and the burgers are pretty good too."
Gwen gives him a little smile, still caught up in her bad memories. "Sounds good..." she says a little absent-mindedly. Then she gives a little sigh. She just remembered...she's not Gwen right now, she's Vicky. She can't afford to be grumpy and sarcastic.
"Shit..." she mutters softly under her breath. "...I have to be perky and friendly, or something, from the moment I get out of this car..." She turns to Ethan. "Can you put me in a good mood in 10 seconds or less?" she smirks.
"Ten seconds?" Ethan says. "Well let's see. I love you, and you are very very sexy with your hair like that. I like it." he says hoping this works. He watches her face to see if she cheers up.
Gwen gets a look on her face that's part amused and part exasperated. Over the last couple of years she's started getting more and more paranoid that Ethan has this "Ideal Gwen" in his head that he wants her to become, and when he looks at her he's not seeing the REAL Gwen, he's seeing what he hopes she becomes, and THAT'S who he's in love with. So hearing his reaction to "Vicky" and seeing the look on his face just serves to reinforce her theory. But...a part of her...waay back in the corner...is just happy to get such a great reaction, no matter HOW different from herself she looks.
She holds up a piece of her hair. "You mean the way it's styled, or the color, or both?" she asks, trying to keep a light tone to her voice.
"I like the style, very nice. I prefer the blond color, Gwen, but it's still you and that's what's sexy." Ethan says. He smiles at her and takes her hand. "This was your plan, Gwen. I wish everyone could know that I married Gwen from Stormwatch. But you know we can't let that out...for Alex's sake." he says kissing her hand.
Ethan finally gets a real smile, and Gwen leans over and kisses him. "THAT was a good answer!" she grins. "I'm sorry...I was just getting paranoid...you know...like normal." she sighs, unfastening her seatbelt. "I'm glad I made an alter-ego that Ethan finds attractive. Especially since he's married to her and all that!" she grins. "Hey...we need to consecrate this marriage later on tonight!" she wiggles her eyebrows, finally cheering up.
Ethan laughs. "You're right, Vicky," he says opening the door. He runs out and opens the door on her side. "We do have to consummate it. I say we have dinner first...then we can discuss this consummation-thing," he says with a wink.
Gwen laughs a deep, rich laugh and takes his hand. "Dinner and then dessert...I like it!" she grins. She gives the diner a once-over and takes a deep breath. "OK, into battle we go!" she whispers jokingly.
The two walk into the diner. The diner is fashioned after an old 1950's diner-atmosphere. All along the walls are posters of old movies, cars, and old-time ads. Even the waitresses are dressed in 50's fashions.
Ethan leads her to a booth and the two sit. A waitress comes over and gives them their menus and walks away.
"MMM vanilla coke. I'll have one of those. You should try the burgers here with the cheese fries." Ethan says. "It's a standard."
Gwen looks around, and then leans in and whispers. "Well Toto, I think we're in Kansas! Man, Ethan...I knew farming communities were a little behind fashion-wise but this is ridiculous!" she teases. "Why don't you order for me! It'll be all...old-fashioned-chivalrous-like!" she grins toothily. "Order me whatever you want!" she smiles, leaning back and folding her arms.
"Alright," Ethan says with a big grin. He waves over the waitress and orders two vanilla cokes, two Big Boppers and two cheese fries. The waitress takes their order and off she goes. Ethan reaches across the table and takes her hand. "I used to come here as a kid. This was the high school hang out. We'd stay here all day after school just talking with our friends eating fries, drinking cokes...you know, the normal teen-stuff."
Gwen smiles wistfully. "Yeah...the normal teenage-stuff..." she says softly, flashing back to spending all her afternoons practicing with her coach and working-out, and then going home to Pete's apartment at dinnertime. She blinks and tries to clear her head.
"I'm glad you had such a great life growing up here." she says sincerely. "So you've lost contact with all those friends?" she asks.
"I've tried to keep up, but with what we do it's so difficult. You can't really make plans without fear of having to ditch them at the last minute. Not what I would call good friend-practices." Ethan says. "What about you?"
Gwen picks up her napkin and plays with it. "I, uh...kind of...stopped hanging out with my friends after school once I was determined to make it to the Olympics. My friends were all on the track team, anyway, so I saw them everyday...until we graduated and went to our separate colleges. I didn't have any friends outside of that. Remember, I transferred to that high school of my own choice, so none of my childhood friends were at that high school...they were all at the one my dad taught at..." she says, her voice starting to sound a little strained. She clears her throat, noticing that she's been shredding the napkin.
"Let's change topics!" she suddenly says, aware that the familiar anger is trying to take her over again. "So is there anyone in town that you know? I mean, you said it was a small town and everyone knew everyone else. Do you know any of these waitresses?" she asks, nodding her head in the direction of the counter.
Ethan looks around and shakes his head. "I don't see Suze but that's to be expected. She must still work during the day." Ethan says. "I hear Kevin has his own car dealership in Cripple Creek and he married Deb. I always knew those two would get together sooner or later."
Gwen gives a little smile. "Phew! Debbie's name taken off my list..." she grins, pretending to be writing in the air. She makes a line in the air with an invisible pencil.
"Just kidding, Ethan. So how are we going to run into anyone you know? Before we left I was a little nervous to go into town, but now I'm intrigued! I wanna meet some of your peeps!" she grins.
Ethan laughs. "It's been along time since I actually came into town like this, Vicky. I'm sure people don't have the same habits they did when they were kids," he says looking around. "Every Friday night this place was hopping." he says looking at the nearly full diner. "But it seems to be mostly older folks here now."
She looks around. "Aah...so this is one of those towns that your generation moved out of after high school..." she says, having heard about this phenomenon. "Well...that's kind of sad, actually...do you think that your name has made it into the local papers-- what with you becoming a big city lawyer, and your life being threatened on the news, and your trial being televised?" she asks.
"I'm sure of it. I just haven't had anyone tell me about it yet. Dad said it made the papers." Ethan says. "How about your home town? Anyone make a big fuss about you in the Olympics?"
Gwen raises her eyebrow and gives him the classic Gwen-look. "I wouldn't know, either...I never went back home. I got my scholarship to UCLA and lived on campus, and of course UCLA made a huge deal about me making it on the Olympic team, and I started getting famous and being offered contracts with companies like Nike and appearing in commercials and ads, and by the time the Olympics finally came around I was a local celebrity! But...as you can imagine, by the time I got back home all that was gone. Nike broke their contract with me...all my other sponsors broke their contracts with me...UCLA took away my scholarship...so I'd have to say no! No one made any kind of fuss over me after the Olympics, aside from the paparazzi trying to get pictures of me and the news running negative bullshit-stories on me for months afterwards. Yeah...good times, good times..." she says, looking down and seeing that she's now shredded her napkin AND Ethan's.
Ethan looks down at his hands. He should have known better than to ask her that question. He sighs sadly, feelings like a jerk. He looks over at Gwen straight in the eye. It's a wonder she hasn't turned out badly. She's such a strong person to have gone through that and not done worse with her life. Ethan smiles at her. "Bad question." he says.
Gwen gives a little laugh and shrug, moving the pieces of napkin into a little pile and then sliding the pile over behind the salt and pepper shaker holders where she's hoping the waitress won't notice until after they've left!
"It's OK...you didn't mean anything by it...you were thinking like someone who came from a normal family." She pauses a minute. "I keep wondering if those shrink-sessions with Karker were a good idea or not. Ever since they started I've been remembering my childhood and teenage years and stuff and...I've been getting depressed. It's weird...when all the bad things were happening to me I never got depressed...I just stayed focused and determined...pushed everything down deep inside of me...until after I got home from the Olympics. I think now that Karker has made me re-live my bad memories I'm finally having the depression that I refused to have when they were actually happening. Well no thank you. I want my money back. Or...Caestus should want his money back, rather." she says in a low voice.
"Maybe you have to deal with them, Vicky. Look at it this way. During those times when all those things happened to you, you pushed your emotions down and went on with life. Maybe your anger is around because you can't handle having those emotions locked up anymore. Maybe dealing with them now is the key," Ethan says.
Gwen exhales in frustration. "Yeah, but talk about bad timing! Not only am I married with a baby, but the fate of the world rest in my hands! Well, OUR hands, but you know what I mean! I can't be dealing with this right now!" she says in a low voice.
Gwen is thinking about the dark time the year following her eruption where she'd contemplated flying back to Greece and demolishing the nice new Olympic Stadium and killing all the Olympic officials...killing everyone who was in on the decision to take her medals away...killing the stupid girls who got her medals instead of her...killing everyone in the media who wrote lies about her...killing all the reporters, tabloid-writers, paparazzi...killing everyone at Nike and GNC...killing everyone who looked at her in fear or disapproval.
She gives a smug smile as she wonders if Raoul or Sifiris or Divis would kick themselves if they only knew what they could have had if they'd gotten to her first instead of Caestus...
Ethan nods. "I know." he says.
Just then a tall man with dark brown hair, a little on the pudgy side, walks in. He walks over to a booth and begins to order when he sees Ethan. He gets a big smile on his face and gets up and walks over. Ethan recognizes him immediately and stands up giving him a big hug.
"Kevin! How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!" Ethan says.
"Ethan! I heard you moved back! I was wondering when I'd see you again!" Kevin says hugging him back.
"Oh Kev this is my wife, Vicky. Vicky, this is a very old friend, Kevin." Ethan says.
Gwen smiles and shakes his hand. "He looks young to me!" she teases. "Nice to finally meet you, Kevin. Ethan was just talking about his favorite memories of growing up and hanging out with his friends here in the diner!" Gwen's going to work hard to be pleasant and light-hearted if it kills her!
"Favorite memories eh?" Kevin says slapping Ethan on the back. "How about the time he drank ten milkshakes in a row and threw up all night in the bathroom? Or how about the time you played pinball for two straight hours with one ball and the machine broke?" he says.
"You remember that?" Ethan asks laughing.
"Remember? Hell people still talk about the pinball game." Kevin says sitting down.
Gwen raises her eyebrow at Ethan. "10 milkshakes, huh? What KIND?" she grins. "And I didn't know you were big into pinball! We could always buy a pinball machine if you wanted!" she smiles.
"Ten strawberry milkshakes in an hour. Not bad-- he broke the record." Kevin says. "Which is five milkshakes in an hour. Man he had to go for the extra five to be unbreakable."
"No no no, it was ten strawberry banana milkshakes in fifty-two minutes." Ethan says.
"Yeah well it didn't take fifty two minutes to throw those milkshakes back up did it?" Kevin says with a huge grin
Gwen is watching Ethan with a big grin on her face, slowly shaking her head. THAT Ethan sounds like a lot of fun! What happened to him??
"Always so competative! That's one of the things I love about Ethan!" she grins. "We'll have to think up some contests like that at our house! I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind being the judge!"
"Oh no this was the diner's competition. The guy the year before all this drank five in a row like that. They thought the record was unbeatable until our hero here totally broke it." Kevin says. "As for pinball, let me tell you. He was so good won a few trophies at it."
"I still have those," Ethan says.
Gwen raises her eyebrows even higher. And then she feels a little hurt. Why hasn't he told her any of this? She's asked him over and over again if he ever competed in anything! He had so many opportunities to tell her! And the milkshake-contest could have easily come up when they were talking about Truth Or Dare-type dares and they crazy things Gwen has had to do!
"Wow...well, that's one of the reasons we're here. I know all about grown-up Ethan, but I guess I don't know very much about childhood or teenager-Ethan." she says, trying to keep a convincing smile on her face.
"So Kevin...I hear that you and Debbie are married? Were you high school sweethearts?" she asks.
"Oh yeah they were." Ethan says. "It was like they were attached at the hip. If one was there the other was sure to follow." Ethan laughs. "Everyone knew sooner or later those two would get married. So yeah, how is Deb?"
"Oh she's great. We were just talking about you. Hey want to come over for dinner next week? Deb would be thrilled to have you guys." Kevin says.
"Sure!" Gwen says, nodding her head. What she's thinking to herself is that it would bring happy/funny/carefree-Ethan out again if they spent more time with his friends, and getting Ethan to calm down and be sillier is definitely on her wish-list. She's also glad to hear that this Debbie-person was always with Kevin! She wouldn't be able to keep a pleasant face at dinner if Debbie had been an ex-love-interest or had had any feelings for Ethan!
"So Kevin...now that I have an Ethan-expert here...Ethan keeps trying to tell me that he wasn't anything special in high school, and he always tried to stay under the radar. Is this true? Or was he Mr. Popular, or something else I should know about?" she grins. "He's so handsome and charming...I find it hard to believe that he was some kind of Mr. Nobody-Special!" she says, resting her elbows on the table and propping her chin up on her hands.
Kevin blinks. "Are you kidding? Ethan-- you under the radar? Mr. Always-at-the-scene-of-an-accident-helping-out-someone-in-trouble? Mr. Straight-A student? No way was this guy under the radar. Whenever there was trouble Ethan was the one you could count on." Kevin says.
Ethan smiles. "Well I was under the radar. Sort of." he says looking at Gwen and smiling. "I thought I'd be a paramedic."
Gwen laughs. I almost wish you HAD! Your life might have been a lot less eventful as far as death-threats go if you hadn't been a lawyer!" she grins. "And I'm glad to hear about the straight-As-thing! It relieves me to know that our children have a chance at inheriting some brains to go with the good looks!" she winks, pretending to fix her hair.
"Oh yeah this guy is the one everyone went to for help with their homework. We'd come here to the diner and study every night with him. Except, of course, when he pulled his little disappearing-acts. It got so bad that when you couldn't find someone they'd call it 'pulling an E.C.'" Kevin says with a laugh.
Gwen grins and raises her eyebrow at Ethan. "Well, well, well...I think we'll definitely have to start using that term again!" Except Gwen's thinking that SHE'S the one who pulls the E.C.s in THEIR household!
So not only is Ethan one of the "strong-novas," but he's also one of the "smart-novas." She was trying to think if there was anyone else like that, and then she remembered Pumpkin! And she doesn't know if she considers Divis to be a "smart-nova"...she hasn't spent enough time around him to know if he's smart, or just insane. Probably both! She WAS going to include Caestus in the "strong/smart" classification, but he's always getting hurt really badly so she's disqualifying him!
"So is it true that all the single girls in high school really DIDN'T have crushes on him?" she asks with a crooked little smile.
"Oh he was such a good-looking guy you'd think so wouldn't you? But nope, there was only one girl who was after him. It didn't pan out." Kevin says. "No, all the girls were after the jocks, and Ethan never played sports. Said his parents wouldn't let him." Kevin says.
"Yeah my dad wanted me to use my brains, not my brawn." Ethan says.
Gwen feels immensely relieved to hear that Ethan was telling the truth about not having hoards of Ethan-admirers after him!
"Such a waste..." Gwen says about Ethan not using his brawn in high school, and she shakes her head. "No WONDER you were always trying to be the first at crime-scenes and trying to rescue people! You needed a physical outlet!" she smiles. She takes his arm. "Well...I'm glad you didn't end up a jock. You might have let it get to your head and turned into one of those arrogant snobs! I think it's cute that you're so humble!" she grins.
Kevin chuckles and pats Ethan on the back. "That's Ethan-- Mr. Unassuming." he says. "It's so good to see you, Ethe. We missed you around here. So now that you're back have you decided what you want to do? It's never too late to do that paramedic-stuff you wanted."
Ethan nods. "I know. I think I'll take over Dad's farm for right now. We've been spending lots of time getting it back to the way it used to be. I've been enjoying it, too." he says.
Gwen nods. "Keeps him in shape, too!" she grins, squeezing his bicep. "Ethan seems like the kind of guy who can be good at anything he sets his mind to. Lawyer one day, farmer the next...who knows WHAT he'll do after 'farmer!'" she smiles. "As long as I don't come home one day and see him erecting a baseball field in the middle of the corn I'm fine with it!" she winks.
Kevin laughs, "As mysterious as this guy used to be, that just might happen." he says. "So tell me Vicky, how did the two of you meet? I'm sure this has to be a great story, knowing him."
Gwen grins. Like a boy scout she's always prepared!
"Well, I work as a stunt-double on TV shows and movies, and I was working on one of those cop-dramas where they needed me to get 'shot' and fall from a building...all that fun stuff...and it happened to be shooting in Chicago where Ethan was working at the time. One of the actors hired to play a thug was involving in something or another, and Ethan was hired represent him, so one day Ethan came to the set to question those of us who had worked with him. I remember the first time I saw him. I had no idea he was a lawyer! I thought he was an actor or a stuntman with his build and looks! He caught my eye right away. I was day-dreaming that if he was going to be an actor in the show that the writers might write some kind of scene where the character I was doubling for would have a dangerous love-scene with him where I'd have to stand in for her...take one for the team and all!" she grins.
"But anyway, after asking around about him and finding out that he was a lawyer and that he was there to question people who'd worked with Freddie, I quickly stepped up, and even though I'd only ever shared one brief scene with Freddie I told Ethan that we'd worked together quite a bit...just so I'd get a chance to be questioned by Ethan...to get to meet him and talk to him! I guess something I did or said caught his eye, too, because he asked me out to dinner that night, and the rest is history! Honey-- did you ever suspect that I really didn't know that much about Freddie?" she grins at Ethan.
Ethan laughs, "You were pretty convincing, Vicky. I didn't know you didn't have those scenes until you told me." he says with a snicker. "Not that I minded that little white lie."
"Awesome story. Yeah we were all shocked when he became a lawyer. We were sure he'd stay here and be a paramedic or even a doctor. Lawyer came right out of left field." Kevin says. "Have you stunt-doubled for anyone famous, Vicky?"
Gwen grins. "OH yeah! You ever see a little show called 'Xena: Warrior Princess?'" she grins, and then does her best Xena-face and makes the little warrior-call with her throat. She laughs. "I also did some stunts for Lynda Carter in "Sky High" where she played the principal. I've doubled for Demi Moore, too, after she got buff, but mostly I do a lot of action-films and TV shows because of my appearance." she explains.
Kevin nods, "Nice," he says. The waitress brings over their orders and Kevin looks at Ethan's meal. "This guy eats like a horse and never seems to gain a pound," he says. "How do you do that?"
"Good metabolism." Ethan says. "Look at you, tho. You still look as fit as you did in high school."
"Thanks. You wouldn't think it sitting behind a desk all day at the dealership but hey, I still have time to work out at home. You should see my gym." Kevin says.
'You should see OUR gym!' Gwen thinks to herself, repressing a smile.
"Ethan's just one of those extraordinarily lucky guys who never seems to have to work-out to keep his figure!" she grins. "Meanwhile, I have to work-out just to stay on top in my field! Ethan works-out by...staying out in the fields!" she jokes.
Suddenly Gwen smells an opportunity for finding out how Middle America feels about its government.
"So Kevin, Ethan and I debate about this issue all the time. What do you think about our current government and system of courts and laws? And if you were suddenly in control, what would you do to change or improve the system?" she asks intently.
"Wow that's a question that came out of nowhere. Well." Kevin thinks a moment. "You know I always thought that the system could be tweaked a little. I mean if you're caught red-handed you're done...that's it. You know?"
Gwen nods. "Exactly. And what's the deal with the court throwing out recorded conversations if the guilty person doesn't know he was being recorded?? If he KNEW he was being recorded he wouldn't confess! It's just insane! I'm sorry...I just took the Edgar Wright case being thrown out a lot harder than Ethan did, I think." she tries to explain. "And now he's broken out of prison and I'm worried that he might try to get revenge on Ethan. He's capable after ANYTHING after those death-attempts he made on Ethan's life."
"Well no one's seen him in awhile. Let's hope he doesn't resurface for a long time," Kevin says. He eats his dinner for a while in silence as Ethan and Gwen do the same. Finally he gets up and shakes Ethan's hand and Gwen's as well.
"Well I've got to get back home. Deb is waiting for me. So good to see you two and you'll definitely have to come over for dinner," Kevin says.
"Wouldn't miss it," Ethan says.
Gwen smiles. "I didn't mean to bring the mood down. I've just had a lot of my mind. It was good to meet you, Kevin. I promise I'll be better company at dinner!"
Kevin smiles and heads out the door after paying at the counter. Ethan turns to Gwen and smiles.
"Well there's Kevin," he says. "Hasn't changed a bit. Always telling jokes and stories about me or the things we did. It's good to see him again," he says with a big smile.
Gwen takes his hand. "I can TELL it's good to see him again! You should see your face! This has been good for me, too. I think there's a lot about each other that we don't know, so I feel like I'm finally getting to know you better by hearing about your growing-up-stuff...and seeing the kinds of friends you picked!" Gwen gets a little smirk. "He hasn't lost his physique since high school, eh? Guess that weight-set he was bragging about is the same weight-set he had back in high school, and I bet it's got another couple of inches of dust on it!" she jokes in a low voice.
Ethan chuckles and takes her hand. "This has been a great night out, Vicky. I'm glad you decided to move here," he says with a wink. "Littleton is a small community but a good one. It's got the best schools in the state and it's not too far from Kansas State U." he says. "Alex will have lots of friends and the best education."
Gwen grins. "And a farm-boy physique!" she teases, rubbing her hand up Ethan's arm. "You really like this 'new me,' don't you! Are you going to call out 'Oh Vicky!' tonight?" she grins, looking askance at him.
"No no," Ethan says shaking his head. "Just trying to keep up appearances. You never know who's listening," Ethan whispers. "I thought we agreed that I would call you Vicky in public," he says.
"We did, silly! But it almost looks like you're going out of your way to say it, you know? Oh don't worry about it!" she says, slugging him lightly in the arm. "I'll get used to it! It just feels weird to hear you saying another woman's name. I'm just having a knee-jerk reaction, that's all. So what do you want to do now, Mr. Vicky?" she grins.
"Well, shall we go home and find out what name I'll shout out?" Ethan says with a wink. "Tomorrow I can show you around during the day. I can take you to my old high school and all."
Gwen smacks him lightly in the arm. What constitutes playful smacking to her and Ethan would be considered spousal abuse to anyone ELSE watching, so she makes sure she keeps it very light!
"Well now, Mr. Vicky, I'd have to veto going home and shouting! No privacy there, if you know what I mean! What I'D like is if you took me to wherever it is that you crazy teenagers used to park in your high school days so I can get an authentic Littleton 'greeting' from its most illustrious son!" she whispers, and then laughs and grins.
"Oh really." Ethan thinks. "Hmmm where to go. Well there's the drive-in or there's Lovers Peak. I heard that was quite notorious in its day," he says. "The truck is a little small don't you think," he says looking out the window.
Gwen wiggles her eyebrows at him. "I wasn't planning on staying in the truck for long! Maybe the BACK of the truck...or the bushes..." she smiles, rubbing his hand. "I mean, we need to experience the whole making-out in the cab of the truck, but after that...who knows WHERE we'll end up!" she grins a big toothy grin at him.
'He only HEARD that Lovers Peak was notorious, hmm? Well THAT'S good!' she thinks to herself in relief. She doesn't know WHY the Littleton girls didn't try to mob Ethan at every chance, but she'll take it!
Ethan laughs and picks up the check. "Well we better get going then." he says. He takes her hand and walks up to the cashier and pays for the meal. He walks back over to the table. "Didn't want to forget the tip." He walks back over to Gwen and puts his arm around her. "Ready to go?"
Gwen smiles a big smile. "OOH yeah! This will be a first for me, too! Parking and making-out...and stuff!" she laughs. "Lead on, Mr. Vicky!" she teases.
Ethan leads her out to the truck and opens the door for her. He closes the door behind her and jumps into the cab. He starts the truck up and turns to her. "If we get caught this is all your fault," he says laughing.
Gwen laughs back. "It would be worth it! Besides, it would just prove to everyone what a good marriage Ethan and Vicky have, and how passionate they are about each other! Might even be a GOOD thing if we got caught!" she grins.
She thinks for a moment with a day-dreamy smile on her face. "Next time we're in my parents' neck of the woods we can do MY teenage fantasy: jogging on the beach, and then finding a secluded place..." she says with a little sigh. "I used to jog on the beach all the time when I was a teenager and needed to be by myself and think. I always passed couples jogging together...couples making-out...couples in various stages of passion...always made me feel even lonelier, you know? It would be good to go back with you and banish those memories."
Ethan nods as the truck pulls away. "Well then it's a date," he says as they pull out of the parking lot and onto the street heading towards lover's peak.
