Fair Game

Disclaimer: Scooby Doo and all related characters are owned by Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., and/or Cartoon Network. All other characters, names, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, locals is coincidental.

Chapter one: A Plan is Announced

The man sitting on the sofa raised the cup of hot, chocolate flavored, coffee to his lips; taking a sip, he savored the rich aroma that assailed his nose. A Christmas present of a quarter pound 'sample' had been the introduction; the love affair that bloomed, never faded. Too sweet for an every day coffee, it was perfect for an evening such as this. Another sip and he replaced the cup and saucer on the end table.

If you, a stranger, were to meet this man on the street, you would guess him to be an outdoors man; and you would be right, healthy tan, well built and fit for his age. It would be somewhat difficult to fix his age; the lines around his eyes told of laughter, of someone just out of their teen years. The eyes, a warm friendly blue or cold steel, depending on the situation, would belie that estimate. They were eyes of someone who had seen a lot of the world. Fred now surveyed the room; each had their own bed room here at headquarters but they usually gathered in the over sized family room for snacks and share friendly camaraderie before bed time.

The other man in the room was almost his opposite. The body of a long distance runner; tall, lean and the ability to run for hours without breaking stride. A shock of dark brown hair that refused to be tamed at least had been subdued into a semblance of order, thanks to a determined Velma and a can of hair spray. A lot had transpired between Shaggy and Velma since the previous Christmas night. The next morning, amongst "oohs" and "ahas" from Daphne and with a smile from ear to ear, Velma had worn the silver pendant on the outside of her orange sweater, silently proclaiming they were a dating couple at last. Fred had had his doubts about this change from being just good friends to exclusive dating.

"Fred, Shaggy has had a 'thing' for Velma for a long time; besides, they are good for each other," Daphne had told him later.

"How so? This is our Velma we're talking about remember. And Shaggy is...well, he's Shaggy!" An unconvinced Fred had asked.

"There will be bumps along the way, but I think they'll work things out. We may have to help..."

"I don't want to sound like a broken record here but again, how so?" Fred interrupted.

"By staying out of their way! By giving them the space they need. And I don't want you giving Velma any unwanted big brother advice!"

"She probably wouldn't listen anyway." Fred muttered but Daphne had been proven right.

There had been some tense moments in the months that followed that little talk with Daphne as the new couple got to know each other from a different point of view; not just as friends, but as a new dating couple. What would be allowed and what would result in a blistering slap in the face was just one of the hurdles they had had to settle amongst themselves.

Another dynamic that had to be addressed was Scooby; how would he react to Velma in her new roll in Shaggy's life? In the past he had not had to share his best friend; with Velma and Shaggy dating, it would be completely different. After a few embarrassing incidents resulting from jealousy, Scooby had accepted Velma into his 'inner circle'. Things had gone a lot smoother after that and even Fred had had to admit the wisdom of Daphne's talk.

"Hey gang, I've got a plan." Fred stated, breaking the comfortable silence.

"What kind of plan, Freddy?" Daphne asked without moving her eyes from the fashion show she was engrossed in on the TV. Her mind began the chore of going through her wardrobe in search of the perfect dress regardless of Fred's plan; her mind had narrowed the search to two dresses and a pair of stretch pants then waited for more details on the plan when Fred continued.

"Let's do something different," Fred included the whole group but his attention turned to Daphne, the red head that sat beside him. Red hair that would make a ripe strawberry envious and a curvy shape that any model would die for, she also had a red head's temper and humor to match.

"That new amusement park is open and I've heard it has some killer rides," announced Fred. Daphne settled on the stretch pants; no dresses if they were going on a roller coaster! 'Now, what accessories' she thought.

"Did you have to say "killer rides"?" Shaggy had been standing behind and just to the left of Velma, the perfect position to let his cheek caress the top of her head.

"You know I don't like 'those' rides, Fred. I lose my glasses and spend half the ride looking for them!" Velma added, holding Shaggy's hand with one hand while closing the lid to her lap top with the other.

"I think you look kinda cute without your glasses...in a near sighted, squinty kind of way," Shaggy laughed.

Velma looked around for something to throw at Shaggy but realized every one was looking expectantly at her. "What? Okay, but I'm not going on one of those rides, and that's final!" Velma said definitely.

"I'll hold your glasses, Velma, and you can hold onto me when you get scared," offered Shaggy.

"Why isn't there a monster around when you need one?" Velma muttered to herself as her lips curled upward in a sly smile.

The plan had been accepted; no one payed any attention to the deceptive smile on Fred's face.