SECOND CHANCES: THE CHOICES WE MAKE
A Simon and Simon/Six Million Dollar Man Crossover
When A.J. is asked to make a difficult decision,
will it mean breaking up Simon & Simon? This is a work of fiction. No money is being made on it, and the characters are owned by Universal
and are only being borrowed for a little while.
Prologue
"A.J.?"
"Yes, Rick?"
"When are you going to ask Linda to marry you?"
"WHAT!" The younger Simon sat upright from his paperwork, startled by his brother's question.
Rick brought his chair back down, and quizzically staring at his brother, patiently repeated, "I said, when are you going to ask Linda to marry you. You've only been seeing her a couple of years now, with Rudy retiring soon, she's going to be able to move here, and let's face it, little brother, you're not getting any younger!"
A.J. looked down at his reports, muttering, "What makes you think I haven't asked her?"
"Oh, God, I'm sorry, A.J., I had no idea, .when did you pop the question?" Rick looked crestfallen, as his brother got up and went to the window, gazing out at the Phoenix skyline.
"A week ago, when we went to that concert in Ojai. I would have told you, but I wanted it to be a surprise, heck, some surprise." A.J. turned back to him, and plopping down on the sofa next to his desk, added, "I love her, Rick, and I thought she felt the same. But when I asked her, she said she loved me but she couldn't marry me. You want to know why?"
Rick came around and sat next to him, "Why?" His little brother glanced back at him. "She says after all the dangerous assignments her friends and boss have been through, she can't handle my being a detective. She said she'd never have peace of mind, and, well, she started crying and saying that she cared too much for me to sit by and worry if I was coming home each night. I tried to tell her it wasn't as dangerous as it used to be, but she just shook her head and said she was sorry."
"I'm sorry, A.J., of all people I thought she would have understood and been able to handle it. You know, Laurie could talk to her if you like, just explain." "No, Rick, not a chance," his brother turned to him, frowning, "That won't work, this is between Linda and I. I'll give her some time, she did tell me she wanted to be alone for a while, when she's ready, she'll call me."
Rick started to commiserate when the phone rang. A.J. picked it up and calmly answered, "Simon and Simon Investigations."
"A.J., its Linda", a quavering voice replied. A.J. motioned his brother to pick up the extension, sensing something was wrong.
"What is it, hon, is anything wrong?" He heard a pause, then "A.J., Rudy's
missing, we think he was kidnapped." "Kidnapped, Linda, are you sure, has anyone called the police?" "No, the OSI is looking into it, he didn't come to work today, and when I went to check on him, his apartment door was open and it looked like someone broke in. Whoever did it, they left a weird note, but nobody knows what it means." "Linda, what did the note say?" Rick passed a pad of paper over for A.J. to use, as they both listened to her fumble with a paper. "It's a rhyme of some kind, Oscar sent it over to the cryptographers, but we haven't heard anything from them. It reads:
Count them all from one to seven Find the letters before they go to heaven, Come to me or it will be hell, Pay the price and all will be well.
What does it mean, A.J., it sounds so crazy!" she said, her voice trembling again. "I don't know, Linda, but I'm going to start working on it right now. I'm going to call the airport and get a flight out, maybe Oscar can use an extra hand. In the meantime, you stay put and don't worry, we'll find Rudy." "Thank you, A.J.," she replied, a little calmer. "I knew I could count on you. Call me when you know what time you'll be arriving, please." The younger Simon motioned for his brother to hang up the extension, which Rick did, teasing his brother by rolling his eyes. A.J. ignored him, lowering his voice and saying, "I will, honey, I love you." After a moment, he said goodbye and hung up the phone, then looked at Rick and surprised him by saying, "Will you go with me, I have a bad feeling about this."
"Sure, A.J., I have a feeling Oscar might be able to use our help, besides, we owe Rudy big time, nobody is going to take him and get away with it. Rick stood up, then realized, "Laurie, I need to call her, she's going to be really upset by this." A.J. nodded, handing his brother the extension.
As Rick started to dial, the main line rang, so he picked it up on the first ring, "Simon & Simon Investigations".
"Rick, it's me. Did Linda just call you?" Rick mouthed "Laurie" at his brother, then answered, "Hi, sweetheart, we just got a call from her. Did she call you about Rudy?" "No, I just heard from Steve and he said she was pretty upset, so I figured she'd call A.J. Rick, Steve says some maniac must have taken Rudy, he left some crazy rhyme and a torn up picture of Rudy on the floor, I want to go help look for him." Rick shook his head, then realized she couldn't see him, "No, Laurie, A.J. and I are going to catch the first flight to L.A. that we can get, I want you to stay at the ranch. If we're dealing with someone seeking revenge, we need to have you where it's safe, ok?"
He could just about picture her stamping her foot in frustration. "Rick, I'm not some little kid playing detective, Rudy's family, I know I can help find him, I know how the OSI works, and believe me, something fishy's going on! Oscar had to practically beg the Secretary to get Linda some protection." "No, sweetheart, I want you to stay home," Rick insisted, and as he heard his wife start to protest, he softened his tone. "Please, Laurie, I love you, I can't do my job if I'm worrying about you. Can you go with me on this?" He could feel the silence through the phone, then, "All right, Rick, I, I'll stay here. I love you, too. I know you and A.J. will find Rudy, I'm just scared for him and I'm worried about Linda. You guys look out for
her, ok?"
"We will, darlin', we'll make sure we find him, too." he replied, feeling humbled that she would give up her need to help for his piece of mind. I'll call you as soon as we know when we're flying out, all right? "Come back to me soon, darling, and if anything happens, I'm coming out there, ok?" "Ok, ", he sighed, knowing that he had to give her that. "Talk to you later, gator," he signed off. then handed the extension to A.J. so he could call the airline.
A Simon and Simon/Six Million Dollar Man Crossover
When A.J. is asked to make a difficult decision,
will it mean breaking up Simon & Simon? This is a work of fiction. No money is being made on it, and the characters are owned by Universal
and are only being borrowed for a little while.
Prologue
"A.J.?"
"Yes, Rick?"
"When are you going to ask Linda to marry you?"
"WHAT!" The younger Simon sat upright from his paperwork, startled by his brother's question.
Rick brought his chair back down, and quizzically staring at his brother, patiently repeated, "I said, when are you going to ask Linda to marry you. You've only been seeing her a couple of years now, with Rudy retiring soon, she's going to be able to move here, and let's face it, little brother, you're not getting any younger!"
A.J. looked down at his reports, muttering, "What makes you think I haven't asked her?"
"Oh, God, I'm sorry, A.J., I had no idea, .when did you pop the question?" Rick looked crestfallen, as his brother got up and went to the window, gazing out at the Phoenix skyline.
"A week ago, when we went to that concert in Ojai. I would have told you, but I wanted it to be a surprise, heck, some surprise." A.J. turned back to him, and plopping down on the sofa next to his desk, added, "I love her, Rick, and I thought she felt the same. But when I asked her, she said she loved me but she couldn't marry me. You want to know why?"
Rick came around and sat next to him, "Why?" His little brother glanced back at him. "She says after all the dangerous assignments her friends and boss have been through, she can't handle my being a detective. She said she'd never have peace of mind, and, well, she started crying and saying that she cared too much for me to sit by and worry if I was coming home each night. I tried to tell her it wasn't as dangerous as it used to be, but she just shook her head and said she was sorry."
"I'm sorry, A.J., of all people I thought she would have understood and been able to handle it. You know, Laurie could talk to her if you like, just explain." "No, Rick, not a chance," his brother turned to him, frowning, "That won't work, this is between Linda and I. I'll give her some time, she did tell me she wanted to be alone for a while, when she's ready, she'll call me."
Rick started to commiserate when the phone rang. A.J. picked it up and calmly answered, "Simon and Simon Investigations."
"A.J., its Linda", a quavering voice replied. A.J. motioned his brother to pick up the extension, sensing something was wrong.
"What is it, hon, is anything wrong?" He heard a pause, then "A.J., Rudy's
missing, we think he was kidnapped." "Kidnapped, Linda, are you sure, has anyone called the police?" "No, the OSI is looking into it, he didn't come to work today, and when I went to check on him, his apartment door was open and it looked like someone broke in. Whoever did it, they left a weird note, but nobody knows what it means." "Linda, what did the note say?" Rick passed a pad of paper over for A.J. to use, as they both listened to her fumble with a paper. "It's a rhyme of some kind, Oscar sent it over to the cryptographers, but we haven't heard anything from them. It reads:
Count them all from one to seven Find the letters before they go to heaven, Come to me or it will be hell, Pay the price and all will be well.
What does it mean, A.J., it sounds so crazy!" she said, her voice trembling again. "I don't know, Linda, but I'm going to start working on it right now. I'm going to call the airport and get a flight out, maybe Oscar can use an extra hand. In the meantime, you stay put and don't worry, we'll find Rudy." "Thank you, A.J.," she replied, a little calmer. "I knew I could count on you. Call me when you know what time you'll be arriving, please." The younger Simon motioned for his brother to hang up the extension, which Rick did, teasing his brother by rolling his eyes. A.J. ignored him, lowering his voice and saying, "I will, honey, I love you." After a moment, he said goodbye and hung up the phone, then looked at Rick and surprised him by saying, "Will you go with me, I have a bad feeling about this."
"Sure, A.J., I have a feeling Oscar might be able to use our help, besides, we owe Rudy big time, nobody is going to take him and get away with it. Rick stood up, then realized, "Laurie, I need to call her, she's going to be really upset by this." A.J. nodded, handing his brother the extension.
As Rick started to dial, the main line rang, so he picked it up on the first ring, "Simon & Simon Investigations".
"Rick, it's me. Did Linda just call you?" Rick mouthed "Laurie" at his brother, then answered, "Hi, sweetheart, we just got a call from her. Did she call you about Rudy?" "No, I just heard from Steve and he said she was pretty upset, so I figured she'd call A.J. Rick, Steve says some maniac must have taken Rudy, he left some crazy rhyme and a torn up picture of Rudy on the floor, I want to go help look for him." Rick shook his head, then realized she couldn't see him, "No, Laurie, A.J. and I are going to catch the first flight to L.A. that we can get, I want you to stay at the ranch. If we're dealing with someone seeking revenge, we need to have you where it's safe, ok?"
He could just about picture her stamping her foot in frustration. "Rick, I'm not some little kid playing detective, Rudy's family, I know I can help find him, I know how the OSI works, and believe me, something fishy's going on! Oscar had to practically beg the Secretary to get Linda some protection." "No, sweetheart, I want you to stay home," Rick insisted, and as he heard his wife start to protest, he softened his tone. "Please, Laurie, I love you, I can't do my job if I'm worrying about you. Can you go with me on this?" He could feel the silence through the phone, then, "All right, Rick, I, I'll stay here. I love you, too. I know you and A.J. will find Rudy, I'm just scared for him and I'm worried about Linda. You guys look out for
her, ok?"
"We will, darlin', we'll make sure we find him, too." he replied, feeling humbled that she would give up her need to help for his piece of mind. I'll call you as soon as we know when we're flying out, all right? "Come back to me soon, darling, and if anything happens, I'm coming out there, ok?" "Ok, ", he sighed, knowing that he had to give her that. "Talk to you later, gator," he signed off. then handed the extension to A.J. so he could call the airline.