Heart-stopping

By RaizelinPlaid

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. They belong to Shoot the Moon Enterprises and Warner Bros. to who I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to keep their adventurous lives going and to the wonderful actors who created them. This is for entertainment purposes only. No infringement was intended.

Summary: This one-shot is set a few days after the tag of Dead Men Leave No Trails. What could Edna Gilstrap possibly have seen on Maplewood Drive to send her rushing to the hospital for a stress test?

A/N: Thanks to The Steno Pool (you know who you are) for reminding me of this story. I found the silver lining in it! This story is loosely based on real-life events.

Thanks also go out to Clagjanet and Kristina for extraordinary beta jobs. You both see things I never would have. Thanks for being there on the other side of that computer. Thanks to Elizabeth Bowker who suggested an idea for an epilogue to the original story that ended up adding two more chapters.

Any grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and errors in canon are solely my own.

Chapter 1: Pilgrim's Peach Puff

She had been anxiously laying in wait of her prey for the past twenty minutes. "Oh, what is taking her so long today? She should have been home from the library by now," she wondered to herself in frustration. Her thoughts continued to plague her as she agitatedly slapped her hands together and muttered to herself. "Today, of all days, she decides to run late!"

Edna Gilstrap continued pacing endlessly back and forth in front of her large bay window overlooking Maplewood Drive. The burnt orange wool carpeting beneath her slippered feet was in desperate need of replacement after years of keeping a vigilant eye out for the safety of her neighborhood.

Finally seeing her victim get out of the car and enter her house, she readied herself to spring like a cat who had just seen a mouse.

Dotty West put her purse away. Deciding she needed to unwind after her book club meeting at the library that morning, she put the tea kettle on to boil. Intent on her task, the shrill ring of the phone startled her.

"Hello?" Dotty said into the receiver still trying to catch her breath and slow her heart rate.

"Oh, Dotty. This is Edna. Did I catch you at a bad time?" she said in her sweetest voice.

"Oh, no, no. I just got back from my book club meeting and was just settling in is all. It's good to hear from you. We haven't talked in a few days," Dotty said beginning to relax as she sat herself down for a conversation.

"Yes, I know, and actually that was why I was calling."

"Oh?" Dotty's interest was piqued.

"Yes. Last time we spoke, you were telling me all about Amanda and how hard she works with her late nights at that film company," Edna reminded Dotty.

"Well, yes. I am just so proud and supportive of all that she has accomplished," Dotty enthused.

"You were also mentioning how she now does all her cooking and baking late at night for the boys and the PTA to have everything ready."

"Yes, she really does burn the midnight oil. I worry about her burning the candle at both ends," Dotty agreed heartily.

"Well, I was thinking about that and how I could try and help. It just so happened that I was looking for a recipe to make for that bake sale coming up,"

"Oh, you mean the one for the church fundraiser?" Dotty asked.

"Yes, that's the one. I was going through my cookbooks, and I found that Pilgrim's Peach Puff recipe you shared at the recipe swap last holiday season."

"Oh, I remember that recipe. That was a while ago. One day, Amanda was so fascinated all of a sudden with all my recipes. I walked in and she had everything spread out all over the kitchen. I never did figure out what got into her that day," Dotty recalled and involuntarily put her hand to head at the memory of the migraine she had been suffering then.

"Yes, I remember you telling us the story, and how you found the recipe again. So, I decided to make it for the bake sale and thought I would make extra for you, Amanda and the boys since I know how much you liked the recipe," Edna stated setting her plan in motion.

"Oh, that is so thoughtful, Edna! I am sure the boys and Amanda would love it for dessert tonight. I am making Amanda's favorite dinner: pot roast and succotash. I hadn't even thought about a dessert yet. She said she wasn't going to be working tonight, and I wanted to surprise her," Dotty exclaimed.

"Well, this sounds like just perfect timing then. I was hoping I could bring it over now if you weren't busy," Edna said hopefully.

"Of course. In fact, I just put on the tea kettle to boil. Why don't you come over and have some tea, and we can catch up?"

"Wonderful. I will just pack it up as it should be cool by now, and I will be right over." Edna quickly hung up the phone. She ran to her kitchen to retrieve the dessert and headed out.