Disclaimer: I do not own Scarecrow and Mrs. King or any of the characters from that series. The situations in this story are my creation, although admitting to that takes some courage. I was not paid for this; I just do this for fun. Reviews are appreciated. :)
Explanation: Halloween night and horoscopes . . . and plenty of candy.
Sweet Tooth
By Jestress
"That settles it, that's the last time I read my horoscope! Ever! I mean it!" Francine fumed to herself as she entered the closet elevator and descended into the depths of the Agency.
It was Halloween night. It was supposed to be a magical evening, filled with mystery and romance. Some magical evening this had turned out to be!
Her horoscope had been so promising this morning, too. It had said:
"Tonight will be a special night that will bring you closer to someone you care about. Expect a little sweetness from a Virgo, and your life may never be the same again."
She'd been dating a Virgo named Gary for a couple of months, and he'd seemed sweet enough. When he invited her to his Halloween party, it seemed like a horoscope come true. Horror-scope, more likely.
Almost from the moment she'd arrived at the party, the evening had turned into a nightmare. Gary had obviously had a couple of drinks before the party even started, and a couple of hours in, he was pretty drunk. He disappeared on her shortly after that, and later was discovered in the coat closet, kissing the woman he had introduced to her as his secretary.
Of course, Francine had walked out on the party immediately. She'd snatched her coat from the closet, whipping it right from behind that lousy fink of a lawyer, but she'd dropped her purse at the same time, losing about half the contents on the floor. Then, she'd had to suffer the indignity of bending over to pick it all up with other party guests watching her. Gary had just given her a puzzled look, like he wasn't sure quite what was going on. With her luck, Gary would be too drunk to even remember the next day and be embarrassed about his part in the sorry incident.
Francine's original plan had been to go home, plan out the scathing message she was going to leave on Gary's answering machine the next day, and then try to forget her troubles by watching the late show on tv, but when she got to her car, she realized that she couldn't find her keys. She'd probably lost them at Gary's apartment.
"Great! This is just great!" she moaned.
After her dramatic storm-out, there was no way that she could go back to his apartment to get the keys, especially if they were still in the closet with Gary and what's-her-name. Then, she remembered the spare set she had left in her desk drawer at the Agency.
Getting into the Agency wasn't a problem. There was always someone on duty. This late on Halloween night there wouldn't be very many people to even notice her and ask her what she was doing there. She could just slip in, get the keys, and get out of there. After the kind of evening she'd been having, she should have known that it wouldn't be that easy.
The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she ran into Ragmop.
"Look what flew in! Leave your broom in the closet? I could loan you this." He held out his mop to her with a smirk.
Francine rolled her eyes and quickly removed the witch's hat that she'd forgotten she was wearing. It had been the easiest costume she could improvise and had given her the excuse to wear her exquisite new black dress. Now, it didn't seem like such a hot idea.
"Good evening, Ragmop," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.
"Good eeeevening," Ragmop said in his spookiest voice. "And what brings Milady Witch to this fine establishment this evening?"
"Call me Milady Witch again, and you'll be wearing that mop. I just came back for something I forgot."
"Need any help?"
It was the nicest thing anyone had said to her all evening, but the last thing Francine wanted was to explain things to Ragmop.
"No, thanks, I know where it is."
Francine hurried on to her desk in the bullpen. The place was nearly empty, except for a small group working quietly in one corner. None of them noticed her. She opened her desk drawer and began rummaging around for the keys.
"Come on, where are you?" she asked grumpily. They must have gotten buried under some of the other things in the drawer.
Something touched her shoulder softly. Francine gasped and whirled around.
"Francine?" Billy stood behind her with a cup of coffee in his hand. They were both lucky that Francine hadn't accidentally knocked it over when she turned around.
"Hi, Billy. You startled me! What are you doing here this evening?"
"Just catching up on a couple of things. I thought you went to that party you were telling me about earlier?" Billy glanced at the witch's hat Francine had set on her desk.
Francine tried to shrug it off casually. "It turned out to be a bust. Deadly dull. I, uh, just came back for my keys."
"You mean the spare set you left here in case of emergencies?"
"Yeah," Francine said with a laugh. She didn't like the nervous, embarrassed edge to her laugh. Right now, she just wanted to find those stupid keys and get out of there and get back to feeling bitter about her evening, but Billy was studying her intently.
"Why don't you go in my office and sit down for awhile?"
"Oh, no thanks," Francine said, still trying to keep her voice light. "You have things to do, and besides, you probably want to get home to Jeannie and the kids soon. Don't you have plans for Halloween with the kids?"
Billy smiled. "My kids are way too old for trick-or-treating, and they have plans with their friends tonight."
"Then, Jeannie must be waiting for you. I'll just find those keys and get going—"
"Francine," Billy interrupted, "go in my office and sit down on the couch. I'll be there in a minute."
When Billy used that tone, there was no use arguing with him. Francine went and sat down on the couch. She didn't want to describe tonight's embarrassment to Billy, but she knew that she was going to have to tell him something. He wasn't going to leave her alone until she did.
A minute later, Billy was back, carrying not only his coffee but a second cup for Francine.
"You drink this," he said. "Be careful, it's hot."
Very parental of you, Billy, Francine wanted to say, but the concerned look on his face kept her from saying it. Francine looked at the cup and took a sip. Billy had added cream and sugar, like usual.
Francine could take her coffee black or with cream and sugar, and sometimes she'd alternate between the two, but Billy always preferred to add a little sweetness.
He waited until Francine had a few sips of the coffee before he started to speak.
"What happened tonight?" he asked gently.
Francine sighed. "I told you. The party turned out to be really boring, so I just left."
"And you apparently left your keys behind."
"I guess so," Francine shrugged.
"You've got your purse, but not your keys?" Billy asked. "Did you give them to anyone or did anyone take them from you?"
"Of course not, Billy! I don't hand the things out like candy!"
"Did you lose them at the party?"
"I must have," Francine said. "I drove myself there, and I didn't miss them until I tried to—" She stopped. She was already telling Billy more than she'd really meant to.
"Until you tried to leave, and you realized that you couldn't unlock your car?"
"Right," Francine said, rubbing her forehead. "I, um, dropped my purse at the party, and I probably lost them then."
"And you couldn't bring yourself to go back to that really dull party to look around for them?"
Francine just looked down at her coffee.
When she didn't answer the question, Billy asked, "How did you get to the Agency without your car?"
"I called a taxi."
"From where, if you didn't go back inside the party?"
"From a little restaurant a couple of blocks away."
Walking that far in the heels she was wearing hadn't been easy, but never let it be said that Francine Desmond didn't have her pride. Anything to avoid having to look like a fool going back for those keys.
"So, let me see if I understand this," Billy said. "You left your keys, by accident, at a party that was so 'boring' that you'd rather walk a couple of blocks out of your way, in the dark, wearing that and a witch's hat, to hire a taxi and come here to get your extra set?"
Billy eyed Francine's dress critically. Maybe it was a little short and a little low-cut, but she had been at a party.
"I can take care of myself," Francine said defensively.
A couple of guys at the restaurant, who had also clearly been drinking, had whistled at her, but she had given them her best glare, and they'd decided to leave her alone. Not that she was going to tell Billy that part of the story.
"I know you can. So the question remains: what happened at the party that was so bad that you didn't feel like you could face it in order to get your keys back?"
Francine took another sip of her coffee, trying to delay her answer.
"Did this guy who invited you to the party . . . what did you call him earlier, Gary? . . . well, did he . . ." Billy trailed off, giving Francine's dress another once-over.
Understanding what Billy was trying to ask, Francine quickly said, "Oh, no, nothing like that. Believe me, if he'd tried something like that, he'd be in a lot of trouble now. I'm fine."
Billy looked relieved, but he said, "Still, he must have done something to make you uncomfortable. What did he do?"
There was no other way out. Francine knew she'd have to tell him the whole sorry story.
Typically, Billy rolled his eyes when she vented about the men she'd gone out with, but this time, he just listened quietly. When she finished, he got up and went to his desk. He brought back a bowl and offered some of the contents to her. The bowl contained a variety of Halloween candy, including a decent assortment of chocolate.
"Thanks, Billy, but I really shouldn't," Francine said.
"Go ahead," Billy said. "One or two pieces won't ruin your figure, and you could use a little chocolate right now."
There was no denying that. Francine helped herself to a couple. The chocolates weren't di Verona, but they were still chocolate. She smiled a little. Billy was such a sweet tooth! Francine suspected that Jeannie limited Billy's candy intake at home, which was why he kept a supply at the office.
"I want you to stop feeling embarrassed about what happened," Billy said. "That's Gary's problem, not yours, and if anyone should feel embarrassed, it's him."
Francine nodded. "I'm certainly going to give him an earful about it tomorrow!"
"No, you're not."
"What?"
"You're not going to give him anything. You and I are going back to that apartment right now to get your keys."
"Billy, I can't—"
"Francine, someone there must have your keys."
"Oh."
"That's right. If someone picked up those keys, they could get into your car or your apartment. We need to get those keys as soon as possible."
Francine set down her coffee cup. Her earlier embarrassment had been bad enough. Not realizing the implications of losing her keys was worse! A person in her profession should be more aware of security risks. She was going to have to swallow her pride enough to deal with the situation.
"Have another piece of chocolate, and we'll go over there and get your keys."
As they drove over to Gary's place, Billy said, "After we get those keys, I recommend that you forget about this Gary. Guys like that aren't worth even the effort it takes to tell them off. You should have more pride than to waste your time with him."
Francine reflected that one of the things she liked about Billy was his ability to put things in perspective. Perhaps her pride hadn't been the problem, but her priorities. Still, she was sad about the way things had worked out.
"My horoscope had promised me such a wonderful evening with him," she said sadly.
"I've warned you about putting too much faith in horoscopes," Billy said. "You do a good job taking charge in your professional life, but you have to take charge of your personal life as well instead of leaving things to chance or horoscopes."
"Chance seemed to work pretty well for Lee," Francine commented without thinking.
Billy normally discouraged that type of gossip about co-workers, but it was increasingly obvious which way things were going between them. The two had met by accident a couple of years before. At first, Lee had seemed as annoyed by Amanda's naiveté as Francine was, but since then, he had become fond of his unusual new partner . . . and probably a lot more than just "fond." Since they'd gotten assigned to the Q Bureau, Francine had speculated about what the two of them did in there all by themselves. She'd never admit it, but Francine was actually envious of the two of them. Why didn't things ever just work out like that for her? Why wasn't she as lucky?
Billy shrugged. "Sometimes, things work out well by chance, but more often, you get what you want by deciding what you want and going for it. You can do a lot better than guys like Gary. You just need to keep in mind what you want and not be willing to accept anything less."
"What if you can't find what you want?"
That was what Francine dreaded. It was one thing to tell everyone that she was a career woman who didn't need a man in her life, at least not right now, but it was another to think that she might be alone forever. From childhood, Francine's father had stressed the need to make herself competitive in a "man's world" and not rely on anyone else. But, more and more, especially seeing how things were with Lee and Amanda, made her wish that there was someone special in her life, too.
"You'll find it," Billy said firmly. "You'll find it because you want to and you'll seek it out. You may even be surprised and find it much sooner than you think."
Her mother had said something similar to her once before, but Francine hadn't really believed it then. It had sounded too much like wishful thinking, and besides, it was her mother saying it. Somehow, it sounded different coming from Billy. Billy was down-to-earth and perceptive. If he believed it, it was more likely to come true than anything Francine had ever read in her horoscope.
Talking about her love life with her boss seemed a little odd, and it wasn't something that Francine did much. But, Billy was one of the few people she could open up to. Sometimes she was surprised at just how easily he could get her to talk about things.
In some ways, Billy reminded her of her father, but he wasn't quite as hard-edged, an odd thing to say about someone who had spent about half his life as a spy. Like her father, he had his impatient moments. The two of them always gave her sound advice. However, Billy was far more cool-headed than her father, and unlike her father, he knew just when to offer her sweets. Francine pondered that for a moment. Come to think of it, wasn't Billy a Virgo, too?
"It was like that for me and Jeannie," Billy was saying.
"Huh?"
"We met by accident at a party. I was looking for someone interesting to talk to, and I found her. When you know what you're looking for, and you're ready to find it, you find it."
"Thanks, Billy." Francine smiled and relaxed in her seat until they arrived at their destination.
As they walked up to Gary's apartment, Francine was glad that Billy was with her. She had recovered her dignity after Billy's pep talk, but Billy might have to restrain her if Gary gave her any trouble about the keys.
But, Gary wasn't the one who opened the door, and the apartment was much quieter than it had been when she left.
"Hi," a good-looking man said, eyeing Francine and Billy, finally settling his gaze on Francine. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants with a medallion on a red ribbon that looked like what Dracula wore in the movies. Francine vaguely remembered seeing the man earlier, wearing a long, black cape, but she couldn't remember his name. "If you're here for Gary Palmer's party, I'm sorry to have to tell you that it ended early."
"It did? Why?" Francine asked. It was only about an hour since she'd left, and the party was supposed to go much later.
The man looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I'm afraid Gary had a little too much to drink, and he was pretty sick. After he passed out, I decided that the best thing to do was to put him to bed and send everyone else home."
"Who are you?" Billy asked.
"I'm Stephen Giroux. I work with Gary, and I'm staying here tonight to keep an eye on him. In fact, I should go check on him again soon."
"Wait!" Francine said. "I was at the party earlier, and I lost my keys. Could I come in and look around for them?"
Stephen perked up. "Oh, yeah! I remember you! Don't worry about your keys, I found them a few minutes ago, when I was starting to clean up. I was wondering whose they were. Here." He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them to her.
"Thank you," Francine said, relieved.
"You're welcome. I'd better go check on Gary and see if he's still alright."
"You're a good friend to do that," Francine said. "That's really sweet."
Stephen shrugged and gave her a grin. "Hey, what are friends for? Hope you two have a good night and get home safely!"
"Goodnight," Francine and Billy said.
As they walked away, Billy asked, "Are all of your keys still on the ring?"
Francine checked. "Yes, they're all here."
Billy said, "Those keys were still out of your possession for awhile. Let me drive you home tonight. I'll have a look around your apartment with you to make sure everything is okay, and we'll come back for your car in the morning, when we can take a better look at it to make sure it's alright."
"Okay. Thanks, Billy." Francine didn't really think there was any danger, but both she and Billy would feel better once they'd made sure.
Billy walked her up to her apartment, and the two of them had a good look around.
"Everything alright?" Billy asked.
"Everything's fine."
"Then, I'll get going. You get some sleep, and don't even think about Gary anymore. There's no point in being bitter. Here, have some more chocolate before you go to bed." Billy gave her a couple more little chocolate bars that he had brought with him from the office.
"Thanks, Billy," Francine said.
"Sweet dreams," he said before he left.
Maybe the horoscope wasn't that far off, Francine reflected as she finished the chocolate. A Virgo had given her something sweet. She might not give up reading her horoscope after all. Although, Billy had a point. Relying on her horoscope alone was a mistake. She really had to take charge of things.
Speaking of which, it might not be a bad idea to stop by Gary's apartment when she went to pick up her car. Not to talk to Gary, but to see Stephen. It couldn't hurt to see how he had coped with Gary the night before and to thank him again for finding her keys. As she got into bed, Francine wondered what Stephen's sign was.
On his way home, Billy reflected on what a strange night this was. Francine had had many boyfriends, but obviously, she still had a lot to learn about men. But, he knew that she would be okay. She was strong and smart, and she'd learn. Hopefully, the next boyfriend would be better than the last one.
Speaking of which, Billy had noticed the way Francine had looked at Gary's friend, and just as significantly, the way he'd looked at her. It might not be a bad idea to do a little background check on Stephen Giroux. He'd seemed like a pleasant young man, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure that he turned out to be a treat instead of a trick for his pretty assistant.
Normally, he didn't like to interfere in his people's personal lives. They were all adults and what they did in their spare time wasn't really his business, but sometimes, he couldn't help but try to steer the young people in the right direction. He was pleased with the way things were working out with Lee and Amanda. He'd had a feeling about them from the first time Lee had brought that remarkable housewife to his office to explain her role in the Mrs. Welch incident. It had taken some hinting and prodding to convince Lee to consider all the possibilities with Amanda, but he'd come a long way in the last couple of years and seemed happier than ever with his new partner. Billy wanted the same for Francine. Francine could be fussy and catty at times, but Billy had the feeling that she would grow out of it if she had a little more sweetness in her life. And some extra chocolate wouldn't hurt, either.
The End
Happy Halloween!