Prompt: Hell Hath No Fury…
Prologue-New Year's Eve
"Alright, ladies. The time has come," Kelly said dramatically, shaking an empty shoebox in her hands.
When none of the women sitting around her perked up, she smacked her hand against the dirty bar table. "This is supposed to be a cleansing," she reminded them, rolling her eyes at the lack of enthusiasm. "We are letting go of the past-"
"In hope for what?" Robin interrupted, sliding the bottle of tequila back and forth between her hands, clearly anxious to crack the seal and start pouring.
Kelly's shoulders fell and she shook her head. "I forget," she mused, glancing at the other women at the table, "the great Dr. Robin Scorpio has so little to live for."
"I was going to say in hope for a better future or some trite garbage like that," the dark haired doctor retorted, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Who came up with this stupid idea anyway?"
"That would be me," Lainey answered, raising her eyebrows at Robin, as if challenging whether or not this was a good idea. "The entire purpose of this night is to let go of the past, and the best way to do that is to honor the memories the past brings."
"And get drunk afterward," Emily chimed in, leaning against the edge of the table, and propping her chin in her hand. "Seriously, when do we get to do the first shot of the night? That will make this whole thing-"
"Actually, you're supposed to the resist the urge to turn to drugs or alcohol," Lainey cut in, switching to her know-it-all, psychologist tone. "You're not supposed to drown your invulnerability or emotions-"
"But it makes everything so much better," Elizabeth, reaching out to grab the bottle from Robin's hands.
Grabbing the shot glasses that stood stacked in the center of the table, between a bowl of limes and two salt shakes, she slid a glass to each of her friends.
"I say we do a round in honor of the past year, then we do this whole thing that Lainey dreamed up for us," she said, pointing at the shoebox Kelly was holding.
"So, what exactly happens to the box afterwards?" Robin asked Lainey curiously, taking a lime from the bowl, then passing it around.
The psychologist frowned, pursing her lips, holding her glass as Elizabeth filled it. "Oh, well I hadn't thought about-"
"That's the most important part!" Emily cried, shaking her head. "We can't seriously put something in this-"
"Look, I can…I'll lock it in my office," Lainey cut in, with a shrug, licking her hand above her thumb before pouring salt onto it. "That way next year, we can look back and laugh on how stupid we were for letting one year be defined by such miniscule things."
"Engagements, deaths, addictions, and life changing tests are not miniscule," Robin replied, raising her eyebrows at her friend.
"At this rate we're going to need two rounds to get ahead," she murmured, rolling her eyes at her friends negativity.
"This coming from the person telling us not to drown our sorrows," Elizabeth mused, holding her shot glass in the air, then waiting for the rest of her friends to do the same.
"We all know psychologists are just as screwed up as their patients," Kelly pointed out, lime and shot in hand, clearly anxious to get the evening's antics going.
"Okay, ladies," Emily chimed in, tending to her role of the dutiful peacemaker. She nodded towards her shot glass. "You know what to do."
"Lick it," Kelly cried, holding her glass out, to meet everyone's. "Oh, how I love licking it."
"Licking what exactly?" Elizabeth teased, arching an eyebrow at her.
"Slam it," she continued, ignoring her friend. "Oh, and probably my favorite part; suck it."
Everyone laughed as they followed the rules they'd deemed the tequila trinity.
"You would think that would get better over time," Elizabeth gasped, making a disgusted face, as she sat her empty glass back on the table.
"Sure it does," Emily replied, nudging her with her elbow. "You just have to throw back a few more."
"No more until…" Kelly scolded, shaking the shoebox, to which everyone rolled their eyes. "Come on, who wants to go first?" When no one stepped forward, she dropped the box in the middle of the table. "Fine, we'll all go at once, since dragging this out is so painful."
None of the women replied. They just simply dug through their purse, then quietly held something in each of their palms. When Kelly held her hand over the box, they all followed, dropping each of their items into the box.
"I feel like a thirteen year old at summer camp," Elizabeth murmured, nervously tugging her hair into a loose bun, that she let rest at the nape of her neck.
"God, I wish I did," Kelly frowned, her eyes filling with nostalgia. "Me and Billy Hunter in one of the bathroom stalls."
"At thirteen?" Lainey cried, failing to hide her shock as well as the rest of her friends.
"What?" Kelly replied, holding up her hands. "I just wanted to see it."
"Oh, God," murmured Elizabeth, immediately reaching for the bottle of tequila. "I so do not-"
"Were you honestly not curious?" she asked, as if it was common for every thirteen year old girl to feel that way.
"Have you told your therapist this?" she asked back, ignoring the question at hand.
"Don't subject change me, Webber," Kelly said, jerking the bottle out of her hand to fill her glass, before passing the bottle on to Robin.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, moving to sit on her knees, as she pulled the box towards her. "Oh, look, a condom. No surprise as to who that belongs to," she replied, flinging the tiny, silver package at her friend.
"Hey, I am seriously trying to cleanse myself of the horrors of addiction," Kelly said, clutching the square piece of foil to her chest. "Do you have any idea how it feels to know that it will be a long time before I get to unwrap one of these and actually use it?"
"Buy a vibrator," Lainey spoke up, causing everyone to burst into a fit of laughter.
"You must think you're really funny," she said sarcastically, jerking the box away from Elizabeth.
"I thought it was good advice," she replied, taking the bottle from Robin, and shrugging.
"Advice we should probably all follow," Emily mused, holding her glass out to Lainey to fill. Everyone looked at her in disbelief. "What? We all know it's the only way any of us are getting any."
"Holy hell," Kelly breathed, too distracted by the diamond ring she'd found in the box, to pay any attention to Emily's comment. She held it out in front of everyone, giving the girls a chance to fawn over. "Seriously, how did you walk away from that?"
Elizabeth grunted, shaking salt onto her hand. "You should have seen the matching tiara," she murmured, making a face.
"Tiara?" Robin asked, leaning over to take the ring from her friend. "Are you sure it's real?"
"It's an heirloom," she replied, rolling her eyes, as the ring was passed around the table.
"And he let you keep it?" Emily asked, cradling it in her palm. "You could hock this thing and buy a small country."
"Or you could slide it onto your finger and help rule one," Kelly pointed out, before licking her palm and tossing back her shot.
"I'm over it," the nurse muttered, grimacing after taking her second shot of the evening. It was clear it was going to take a few more before they started going down any easier. "I couldn't live up to that kind of pressure."
"Which is not the same as being over it," Lainey said in her doctor to patient tone. "You can pretend that you don't miss him or think about him-"
"Not like she couldn't forget about him when she's lugging this sucker around," Emily interrupted, still holding the ring, her face in complete awe. "If a man gave me something like this-"
"You'd feel the weight of the ball and chain way before he ever put it on you," Elizabeth cut in, snatching the ring from her hand, and tossing it into the box.
"Wait," Robin said, holding up her hand. "Is he letting you keep his family heirloom?"
She nodded. "Only because he thinks I'll come crawling back to him."
"Can I go in your place?" Kelly asked, pouting her lip, as she stared down at the ring. "I'll go willingly."
"Except you can't put out," Robin replied, half snickering as she poured another round of shots. "And we all know-"
"This topic is not up for discussion," Elizabeth said, narrowing her eyes at her friends.
"Oh, she's so not over it," Kelly mused, bringing the shot to her mouth, completely disregarding the tequila trinity for this round.
"I do not need a man anymore," she spat, her sapphire eyes raging with annoyance. "I am completely capable of being on my own, and for a man to insinuate that I'm not capable of doing that…Well, who needs that."
"So not over it," Lainey chimed in, frowning at her. "Denial is one of the most significant stages of grieving-"
"This coming from you," Elizabeth snapped, covering her mouth with her hand the second the words left her mouth. Her friend's face fell, and the entire table grew quiet. "Lainey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up your fath-"
"It's fine," she said, forcing a terribly fake smile at her. "I shouldn't be criticizing you." She ran a finger over the top of her shot glass as she stared down at the folded up piece of paper she'd dropped into the box. No one bothered to open it because they all knew it was a death certificate. "I can't really be objective about a damn thing these days."
"Which is completely understandable," Emily replied, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, as she leaned against her. "Besides none of us are really in the position to say anything to each other."
"Emily's right," Kelly agreed, placing a hand on her chest. "I am a sex addict, and hell hath no fury like a horny woman."
"I am cold and bitter. A grade A ice queen," Robin said with a laugh, rolling her eyes at her friend's dramatics. "But how are you not supposed to be like that when the majority of people don't want you around, let alone touching them?"
"Not everyone can be so understanding," Emily replied, with a heavy frown. "People don't take the time to get educated these days, making it their loss, cause you are a phenomenal doctor."
She couldn't help but smile at her friend's encouraging words. "Are you really keeping this box in your office?" she asked Lainey, who nodded.
"Then, I'm switching," she continued, grabbing her car keys out of the box, everyone looking at her oddly. "What? It broke down on me yet again, so I told myself I was going to buy a new one." She stopped to pull a medical file out of her purse. "But I'd rather get rid of these."
She leaned forward, dropping the file into the box. "This is a big step for you," Lainey said, sounding proud that Robin was letting up on the one aspect of her life that always kept her down.
"Every piece of paper that focuses on my disease. Notes, prescriptions, T-cell counts," she rattled off, looking satisfied to be rid of it all. "I'm not going to spend another second pouring over any of it cause nothing is worse than a woman who hates a majority of her life."
"Or one fresh out of a very serious relationship," Elizabeth said, scowling when everyone looked anything but convinced. "From here on out, I'm just out to have a good time."
"We should all drink to that," Emily replied seriously, filling another round of shots.
"You didn't spew any problems yet, honey," Kelly murmured, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms.
"It's easy being Emily Quartermaine," Elizabeth teased, laughing to herself. "Your family loves you."
"Every doctor wants to sleep with you," Kelly griped, taking the bottle from Emily. Shaking her head in disgust, she brought the bottle to her lips, and took several long swigs. When she sat it back on the table, she frowned. "What if I just replace one addiction with another?"
"Then, you'll have double the twelve step programs," Lainey replied, clearly amused at the thought of Kelly losing something else she held dearly.
"If I can't have sex, I have to have alcohol," she said, sounding fearful at the possibility of losing her newest life staple.
"Most women would say chocolate in place of sex," Emily replied, flicking a peanut at the sex addict. "I know a good box of Godivas always does the trick for-"
"You'd be getting laid if you didn't have to schedule it in somewhere," Robin cut in, grabbing the shoebox from the table. "Please tell me you-Yes, you tossed that damn date book in here. I am so glad-"
"Only because you all harped on me over it," she said defensively. "Heaven forbid that I like my life organized. That I like to make neat lists. That-"
"You should be penciling Dr. Drake in for a four o'clock appointment," Kelly replied, grabbing the date book from the box. She flipped it open, turning several pages. "December first…Work seven to three…Manicure with Elizabeth at four…Dinner at five thirty with the Quartermaines…Work out from seven to eight…Shower-Wait, you schedule-"
"Allowing myself specific time periods, prevents me from wasting time," she cried, reaching across the table and jerking the book from her hand. "Idle hands are the devil's play things, and now-"
"Now those hands will be doing a lot of playing," her friend said, grinning with envy. "You can use them for things like sliding those scrub bottoms off Dr. Drake's tight-"
"We are not talking about this anymore," she practically shouted, her face turning flushed.
"Oh, you've totally thought about it!" Robin teased, causing everyone to laugh.
"Who hasn't?" Kelly asked, resting her chin in her hand, her eyes closed. "Those strong cheek bones, that messy hair, his body glistening beneath those showers in the locker room."
"This probably isn't helping you at all," Elizabeth replied, shaking her head.
Her eyes remained closed, a pleased smile spreading across her face. "Oh, it's helping."
"Thirty minutes till midnight," Kelly announced, her words only slightly slurred, after a bottle and a half of tequila with her friends.
"Look at all you beautiful ladies alone at midnight," came a low, husky voice behind them.
"Oh, the answer to my dreams," she replied, tilting back in her seat to see Patrick Drake, towering above her. "My very dirty dreams."
He leaned forward, his hands bracing her chair to keep her from falling backward. "Did you say dirty?" he asked, with a wink.
"Oh, if you only knew," she replied, biting her lip. "Though I think Emily has better dreams about you, you know the kind where-"
"Kelly has had five shots too many," Elizabeth cried, glancing at her friend who was now cradling her head in her hands, while Kelly laughed hysterically.
Patrick looked around at the girls, as if completely lost. "Leo and I are going to go grab a beer. We'll be back."
"Oh, you better be," Kelly called after them, waving flirtatiously at his friend. "God, those men are beautiful. How do you get any work done around them, Elizabeth?"
"Unlike you, I'm not imagining them naked when their hands are in someone's brain or chest," she replied sarcastically.
"No, you're too busy imagining that diamond giving ex-fiancé of yours," Robin piped up, looking around the bar. "Where is he by the way? Shouldn't he be here begging for you to kiss him at midnight?"
"He's too busy being all hot and lonely on Spoon Island," Kelly muttered, closing her eyes and grinning.
"Are you thinking about him?" Elizabeth shouted, reaching over to slap her on the arm.
Emily laughed, slumping back in her chair, her eyes heavy from the tequila. "Not so fun when she turns the table on you is it."
"Not that she cares," Lainey muttered under her breath. "She's over it, remember? This is her year to what? Be wild? Take charge?"
"Have one night stands!" Kelly jumped in, smacking the table excitedly. "But not one too many or else we'll be sharing a therapist."
"Having fun does not necessarily mean hopping into bed with some stranger," Elizabeth replied, staring at Kelly in disbelief. "You have to make everything so sex-"
"What are you ladies talking about?" Leo asked, appearing at Elizabeth's side, a chair in his hand.
"How Elizabeth is going to have hot, nights of-"
"Staying up and painting," Elizabeth hissed, glaring at her friend.
"That's only hot if you're naked," Patrick said, pulling up a chair beside Leo. "Are you going to be naked? Cause I'd like to be there."
Kelly's mouth fell open, and she slumped over the table. "They get all the good ones, Robin," she cried, holding a hand over her face.
"I do not paint naked," Elizabeth said slowly, looking at Emily for help, but her friend was still too horrified about the dirty dreams comment.
Lainey laughed as awkwardness flooded the table. "So, the year is almost over," she said, looking around at everyone. "Any last regrets? Mistakes to be made?"
"Resolutions?" Patrick asked, leaning back in his chair, beer in hand. "You guys do that whole bit yet? Exercise more? Eat less junk food?"
"Or in your case continue being fine as hell," Kelly muttered, causing Robin to burst out laughing, and everyone looked at them like they were crazy.
"I don't believe in resolutions," Lainey replied, eyeing her laughing friends suspiciously. "If you aren't already doing it, then why make a point to do it. Just seems kind of idiotic to me."
"That makes sense," Leo said with a nod. "Especially coming from a psychologist."
"Lainey's such a bore," Kelly spoke up, finally sitting up to face everyone.
"Well, we already know your's," she replied, narrowing her eyes across the table at her. "Less sex, more liquor."
She grunted. "And you say that like it's a bad thing."
"I think we can agree we just want to have fun this year," Elizabeth said simply, looking at the men. "We're just women scorned, out looking for a good time. Not taking life too seriously… And definitely no strings-"
"You are so not over it," Kelly hissed, reaching for the half full bottle of tequila.
"I am so," she cried, her whining only enhanced by her drunken state.
"Prove it," Lainey said, arching an eyebrow, and Elizabeth just glared. "What? It's psychologically proven that taking a step forward shows that-"
"What do you expect me to do?" she interrupted, throwing her hands up. "Bang the next man that walks into the bar? Is that how I show that I'm over the former love of my life? The man who gave me a diamond that would buy this city? Only to tell me that I have to play some dutiful-"
"So not over it," Emily muttered, apparently now over the awkward moment with Dr. Drake.
"Don't you start teaming up on me with them!" she shouted, causing heads around their table to turn.
"Oh, come on, you already said this was like summer camp," Robin pointed out. "Why not take it a further step? A little truth or dare, but only for you, of course."
Her jaw tightened, as she tipped her head towards Kelly, giving in to their demands. "I'm not having sex with anyone, let alone someone in this-"
"Fine, you just have to kiss them," she said glumly, as if that was just not as fun.
"At midnight!" Robin cried excitedly, and that seemed to perk Kelly up.
"But who do we choose?" Emily asked, suddenly looking enthralled with the idea, as she looked around the bar.
"No one already in this bar," Elizabeth said firmly, her face filling with shame, when it become clear she was going to go through with this.
"Is this what you girls do when we're not around?" Leo asked, shaking his head, as he sipped his beer.
"Apparently they do it when we're around too," Patrick replied to his friend, before leaning in towards the girls. "You have two very capable guys right here with you, and you're looking elsewhere."
"No woman could kiss you and walk away," Kelly replied flirtatiously, winking at him. "And we all know seeing as Elizabeth is not over it, she'll need to walk away, or else she be racked with guilt for sleeping with you. Especially when Emily is her best-"
"The next guy that walks in!" Emily cried, a pleased smile on her face, as she turned to Elizabeth. "You have to kiss the next guy that walks in the bar, which is okay by a technicality, cause he's not already in the bar."
"Bitch," Elizabeth muttered, causing every mouth at the table to drop. "What?"
"Forget her," Kelly said, clapping her hands. "We have to watch the door."
"You only have ten minutes," Patrick said, glancing at his watch.
"Oh, not you too," Elizabeth scowled, staring at the doctor, who gave her a blank look. "Seriously?"
"It's New Year's, and if I'm not kissing anybody at midnight, then why not help a friend," he replied with a shrug.
"So, I take it your resolution is do unto others?" Kelly asked, sitting back in her chair, her eye on the door. "Cause I know there is much doing that could be done."
"Obviously Kelly's resolution is to not fall off the wagon," Robin replied, pointing at her. "Which at this rate, we'll be fortunate if she makes it to next Friday."
Patrick laughed, his eyes shifting over to Emily's. "What's yours?" he asked, obviously curious as to why she was being so quiet.
"Um, just like Elizabeth said," she muttered, stumbling over her words. "Have fun…You know, be less by the book."
"Have a fling," Kelly said seriously. "Emily's goal for this year is to have a fun filled romance that has tons of good sex."
"You handing out resolutions now?" Leo asked, placing his empty beer bottle on the table.
"Yeah, your's is to get a new hairstyle," she replied without skipping a beat.
"Oooo, burn," Lainey said, laughing into her shot glass, as she took one last shot for the new year.
"Lainey's is to stop psychoanalyzing everyone she meets," she continued, eyes still on the door. "Robin's is too lighten up and realize that her life is not defined by HIV. She controls who she is, not her disease."
"Going deep there, Kelly?" Emily asked, shaking her head.
"And Elizabeth's is…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes lit up at whatever she was looking at across the room. "To kiss that gorgeous man in the leather jacket that just walked in."
"Leather?" Elizabeth asked, making a face, as she stretched to find him.
"Oh, yes," Kelly breathed, her eyes lingering on him as he made his way to the bar. "Now that is a man that you can just imagine wrapping your legs around."
"Time's running out," Lainey clucked, as Patrick checked his watch, and held it out for Elizabeth to see.
"This is stupid. I can't just walk up and kiss a complete-"
"If you're over it, you can deal with the fact that you just drank at least ten shots of tequila, you broke up with the supposed love of your life, and you want to have fun," Kelly interrupted, getting up and walking around the table to her.
Bending down, she grabbed Elizabeth's arm, pulling her to her feet. "Now, let's go."
"I am not doing this," she muttered, her feet moving on their own as Kelly tugged her in the direction of the bar. "Kelly, I am serious."
"It's not like you're ever going to see him again," she replied, slowing her pace as they came up behind him. She looked at Elizabeth thoughtfully, silently debating the best possible way to go about this, and then everyone around them started chanting.
"Twenty!"
"Oh, hell," she murmured, stepping behind Elizabeth, placing her hand on her shoulders. "Just do it, Webber. I have faith in you."
"Sixteen!"
"This is insane."
"Fourteen!"
"A kiss is just a kiss, unless you have a reason for it not to be," she reminded her. As the countdown reached ten, she called out good luck, shoving Elizabeth towards him.
Sure enough, she stumbled into his back, knocking him against the bar. She would have fallen to the floor herself, had the man not turned around hurriedly, and caught her by the arm.
"You okay?" he asked, Elizabeth staring up into the most gorgeous set of blue eyes she had ever seen in her life.
"Six!"
"Sorry…A little drunk," she replied, wincing with embarrassment.
"Five!"
"No need to be sorry," he murmured, his hands on her sides, holding her steady in front of him.
"Four!"
"Oh," she replied dumbly, leaning against him when the room started to spin.
"Three!"
"You sure you're okay?" he asked, dropping his head so that his mouth was just beside her ear.
"Two!"
Tipping her head back, she looked up at him with a nervous grin, while the girls hooped and hollered from the back of the bar. Grabbing his jacket, she gave it a slight tug forward, his brow furrowing with curiosity.
"Happy New Year," she whispered softly, placing her lips over his.
"One!"