The Reading

The Reading
Written by Roger Lamb II
Rated G
Summary: The band heads back to New York because Molly bought tickets to Crossing Over with John Edward. They're in for a big surprise.

Authors Note: Ticket information on the official Scifi.com website for the show Crossing Over with John Edward states that no one under 18 is allowed in the Gallery, but since this fan fic has both Fi and Annie in it, at the reading, that rule isn't in effect in this story.

Molly was anxious to go back to New York to see Rachel again. She hadn't seen her for about 6 months, after all. She was just about to yell up to Ned how much longer when he yelled
Ned: We're entering New York City limits in about five minutes.
Molly: Good, I hope Rachel got the tickets.
Fi: What tickets, mom?
Molly: Oh well, this was going to be a surprise, but I gave your Aunt Rachel some money to get us all tickets to go see a taping of that show on the Scifi Channel you watch all the time, Crossing Over with John Edward.
Fi: Really? That is SO cool! What time is it at?
Molly: Well, it's tomorrow at about 2:00. We'll do a little visiting and shopping before that, then after the taping it's off to Miami.
Ned: Okay, everyone, we're officially in the Big Apple.

(At Rachel's Apartment)
Rachel: Fi! Oh, I've missed you so much. How was Seattle?
Fi: It was the best. I got to see all of these really neat plays that Aunt Melinda was in.
Rachel: Well, I'm sorry I wasn't interesting enough to stay with. **she joked
Fi: Well, I didn't wanna be falling off any buildings **she joked back
Molly: So? Did you get the tickets?
Rachel: Yes, they're over there on the table.

(The next day, noon, they're shopping)
Annie: What time is it, Molly?
Molly: It's a little after noon. Annie, relax, we've got a good hour before we have to get going.
Annie: You're right.
Fi: Hey, Annie, why are you so anxious to get to the taping?
Annie: Well, because I'm hoping that I'll find something out about my life, this panther following me everywhere, Peru, my everything.
Fi: Well, it's like John says, "Please don't put earthly expectations on a heavenly experience." But, for some reason, I'm sure that you, no wait, all of us, will hear something.

(finally at Crossing Over just before they're about to begin recording.
Jack: Mom, why are we all here? This is just another quack trying to get some money.
Molly: Jack! This means a lot to me, your sister, and Annie. Try not to ruin this experience for us.
Crewmember: Okay everyone, we're going to begin recording now, start clapping.
**Audience begins clapping, John walks out
John: Thank you and welcome to Crossing Over. I'm John Edward and unless there are any questions, I'm ready to begin. I'm being pulled over here **walks to the part of the Gallery where Molly, Annie, Jack and Fi are sitting, he starts humming Never Give Up
Annie: **after listening to the music for a bit, she realizes that it's her song which never left the bus** Excuse me, where did you hear that song?
John: It's playing in my head, I never heard it anywhere before.
**Fi looks over at Annie**
Annie: That's my song, I wrote it about three months ago.
John: Really? Wow, it's a nice song.
Annie: Thanks
John: I'm seeing a bus, not like a school bus, it's like a customized blue RV type deal.
Molly: Yeah, that's our bus.
John: You come her with her?
Molly: Yeah, I brought her and my two kids.
John: Okay, I have someone coming through to your side so that could be husband, brother, cousin, or friend and their name starts with an Do you understand this?
Molly: Yes, that'd be my husband, Rick.
John: Passed?
Molly: Yeah.
John: Then I'm definitely with you. I've got all this information coming through to me from him, but the thing sticking out most is Go to the bus. So I don't know if this is something he always said to you or not but he wants you to go to the bus. It could be that you might be better prepared for the information coming through if you're in a familiar surrounding.
Molly: Would it be because his sister, and our closest friends are there waiting for us right now?
John: You left them on the bus?
Molly: Well, we could only get four tickets.
John: And you told them to wait there for 6 hours?
Jack: It was a good parking spot.
(audience laughs)
John: (to the producers) Can we get a cameraman to follow us out to the bus?
Producers (over mic): We could but they wouldn't be able to send live feed back here so you're going to have to do the reading in here.
John: I don't know if her husband's going to let me do it easily.
**Producers talk amongst each other for a minute and say
Producers: We're going to send a cameraman out with a tape, and we'll have play back everything in here later. Be quick.
John: Okay, if you'll please follow me.

(Walking out to the bus, cameraman records everything since leaving the Gallery)
John: **to Molly** So you actually live on a bus?
Molly: Well, we're a traveling band, we go home once in a while.
John: Sounds fun.
**They're at the door and are walking out**
John: Umwhat's her name? *asking Fi, pointing at Annie
Fi: Annie
Annie: What?
John: Don't move, there's a panther walking up right by you.
**Everyone looks puzzled by this, except Annie.
Annie: You mean you can see the panther too? I thought I was the only one, and whenever I did see it, it always seemed like a dream.
**John's puzzled by this but shrugs it off
Molly: Okay, here's the bus.
**John looked it over before going up the steps and into the cab
Molly: Here, have a seat. Clu, could you move over a bit please?
Clu: Sure, Mrs. P.
Irene: What's going on, Mol?
Molly: Everyone, John Edward. John, this is Irene, Ned, Carey, Rachel, and Clu. **Molly said pointing to everyone as she said their names.
John: Okay, I am a medium and came to these four back in the Gallery with messages from her husband, Rick, who said to come out here. He must have some messages for all of you. Annie, you traveled around the world, right?
Annie: Yeah, with my parents.
John: All right, I'm seeing South America, mainly the Amazonian Region, so I don't know if you've been there, are going there, or that's where your parents are now but that's what I'm seeing. Do you understand this?
Annie: Yeah, we lived there when I was three years old.
John: I'm getting the feeling that this panther that we're seeing has something to do with that place. I feel like the spirits know, but they aren't telling me what exactly. They're saying that you'll find out soon enough, okay?
Annie: Yes, thank you.
John: Now I'm coming over to you four. (turning to the Bells) You aren't related to them, correct?
Ned: Yeah, that's right.
John: But I'm getting the feeling that you are family, so this could either be a sign of how close you are, or that your daughter and your son are involved but I'm getting a sense of togetherness.
Irene: Well, we are stuck together almost 24/7.
Molly: Gee, thanks, Irene.
**They all laughed, amid this laughter, Fi's laptop, which was sitting on the table, opened itself up and started booting up.
John: Um, Ned, right? Were you involved in someone death when you were younger?
Ned: Well, when I was about twelve, me and a couple of other kids were jumping into a river when one of my best friends fell to his death.
John: okay, then this is for you. Who had the name? Like,
Ned: My friend Sam, he was there too.
John: Okay, this person is saying that he forgives you and Sam and that he misses spending his life with you two but he's also showing me a white rose which means that he's congratulating you for something, it seems like it's for how your life turned out.
Ned: Thanks. It feels like a really great weight has just been lifted.
**By this time the computer was already fully booted up and was into a word processing program. Rachel was the only one who noticed that the thing was opened up when it wasn't before
Rachel: Fi, Did you leave your laptop open?
Fi: No, why?
**Rachel points to the computer which is now typing a message on it's own: I WENT FIRST RICKY
Rachel: Oh my
John: What's going on?
Fi: Well, when Rachel and my daddy, Rick, were kids, they made up a code to send each other secret messagesthey called it their Twin Code because they were twins. Anyways, the last time I was in New York, he used this code, and this message to contact us and tell us where we could meet him
Rachel: Yeah, this exact message was how he used to tease me. We were twins so when we came out of my mother, he went first and he always teased me about that.
John: Wow, this is definitely one of my weirder readings. He's coming through, Fiona, that's your name right?
Fi: Yeah
John: He's telling me that those e-mails you've been getting, and the help with the troll, a troll?, and that song you played with the other Medium back home, did come from him and he is still there for you, protecting you.
Fi: I knew it! Thank you.
John: Sure, but now I'm seeing a parallel between you two, it's a big one.
Fi: Yes, we were alike a lot, I have a list, if you want to look over it.
John: That could prove useful.
**Fi walks over to her laptop and opened up the document where she listed her similarities with her father and brought it back to give to John who begins to look over the list
Fi: There, that's everything that I know right now.
John: This is a good-sized list. *Just after John finished saying this, he began typing on the computer.
Fi: What are you doing?
John: I don't know, I think your father's typing more things on your list for you, through me. No wait, he's opening up your Internet browser.
Fi: he's sending you to a web page? Why would he do—
**Fi got cut off after hearing the sound of her father's voice coming through the laptop.
Rick: Hi everyone, can't talk long **static** thanks, John **more static** all **more static** save address **static** update often Fiona
The message frizzled out. Tears were streaming down Fiona's face.

(Back in the Gallery)
John: After their reading, Fiona was very eager to talk to the producers about her reading from me and apparently latest message from her father. Here's what she had to say.
(Projected on screen)
Fi: My dad died when I was three and for the past two years, it seems as though he's contacted me more than once. Finally, a few months ago, like I told John, I was supposed to meet him, but it turned out to be a trap for me to be killed for the same reason he was. I was hanging off a building right here in New York and just as I was about to fall, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to safety. I never had any memories of him because he died when I was so young but he told me that everything that I've seen on tour gives me memories of him so I was happy to hear that. Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you what I have seen. Since we've been on tour, especially this past year, I've seen a lot of things that you wouldn't believe. To name a few, I've met up with Bigfoot, e-mail messages from my dad telling me the future, aliens, angels, a whole town of mind readers, vampires, a troll, it's all listed on my website.

John: Molly, Annie, and Jack also wanted to talk to our producers after their reading.
(Projected on screen)
Molly: Rick was my husband, soul mate, actually and he died about 12 years ago and up until a few months ago, I lived in the same house that we lived in when he was still alive, but the past couple of years have made me start to hate that house because I saw him, everywhere. It wouldn't let me get on with my life.
*Flash*
Jack: I used to not believe in any of this psychic mumbo-jumbo but I definitely think that today has made me see things a little more like Fiona would. Don't tell her that though. **chuckles
*Flash*
Annie: When I was three, me and my parents lived in Peru. It's the only place out of everywhere that we've been that actually feels like home to me, but my parents don't like to talk about it. Ever since then, weird things, like Fi's been seeing, have sort of found me. I used to think that the panther was just a dream but knowing that John saw the same thing lets me know for a fact that it's real. But the whole Peru secret that's been kept from me, I'm glad to know that I'm going to find out what that is soon.

John: I want to thank the Phillips, the Bells, and Annie for verifying all of the information that came through, even though most of it didn't even come through me. More in the Gallery next.


THE END