AN: Many thanks goes to "mchicken" for the inspiration her artistic creativity provided my muse and for her permission to use her drawing as the cover pic of this story. Written as a challenge response, here is the start of my brand new tale...
I hope you all had a blessed Christmas surrounded by your family and friends.
Tanith
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters, locations or canon information depicted in the series "The Streets of San Francisco". I'm just borrowing them for my pleasure and hopefully the enjoyment of others.
Prologue:
The slim brunette hurried to pick up her ticket at the small window. She graciously thanked the man and bade him a good night before he slid the shutter down. Jeannie Stone picked up her suitcase and carried it toward her bus which was due to leave at any moment. It had been one of those days where everything that could go wrong did go wrong and she had been worried she would miss her bus; the last one for the day. Still, the thought of spending Christmas with Mike and Steve lifted her spirits. Relieved that there was still a queue to board the long distance coach, Jeannie slowed her pace to catch her breath. By the time she reached the still stationery vehicle, she saw an elderly woman on her own struggling to carry her suitcase and travel bag on to the bus. It appeared everyone else had boarded and the driver seemed to be in the midst of a disagreement with a disgruntled passenger that he did not notice her. The college girl's heart went out for the lady and without a second's thought she lowered her own suitcase on the ground then placed her purse beside it.
"Here, let me help you with that,"Jeannie offered as she took the handle of the suitcase from the little old lady.
"Oh thank you, my dear. You are much too kind! I don't wish to trouble you," the elderly woman gushed, squeezing the girl's shoulder affectionately.
"It's no trouble at all." Jeannie smiled and felt better than she had been all day. As she carried the suitcase onto the bus, she couldn't help but be amused at how heavy the old woman's luggage weighed and wondered what on earth she had packed in it. Shuffling past the irate passenger who was now losing his temper in earnest, Jeannie tucked the suitcase in a luggage compartment above what looked to be the last empty seat on the bus. Then she made her way back to the door and helped the lady board, taking her travel bag from her.
"Thank you, my dear. You are truly an angel!" the old lady beamed.
Jeannie sat the woman down in her seat and placed the travel bag down beside her as there was no more room in the luggage compartment.
"What is your name, dear?" the woman asked kindly.
"Jeannie," the college girl replied.
"Merry Christmas, Jeannie and many blessings."
"Merry Christmas to you too,"Jeannie returned the greeting then disembarked from the bus to retrieve her luggage and purse but her eyes were met but the empty ground. Her suitcase and her purse were gone. Wondering if perhaps someone had thought they were lost property or if they were taken by mistake, she quickly looked around the bus then headed for the already closed office. She knocked on the shutter but no one answered. Brushing her fingers through her hair, Jeannie tried not to panic. Maybe someone had already placed her things on the bus, she thought hopefully. Just when she thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, the wind picked up and giant rain drops began to pour down from the dark sky. "Great!" Running back to the coach, she was crestfallen when she saw it start to pull away.
"No! Wait! Stop!" Jeannie yelled out frantically. She ran as hard she could but the bus did not stop. The rain mixed with oil streaks on the road had made the surface slippery and the young college girl slid and fell, hitting the back of her head as she went down.
As the coach pulled away from the depot, two of its passengers grinned connivingly.
"Let's see what Miss Jeannie Stone has in her purse, shall we?" The young brunette thief opened up the compartments of the purse in her lap and rummaged through the contents in search of cash.
"A hundred and fifty bucks and some loose change. Not bad, honey," the man beside the pretty brunette replied.
The pair divided the cash between them then locked themselves in a passionate kiss. When they finally parted, the sandy haired man pulled out the ticket from the stolen purse and read the destination information. "Looks like we're goin' to Frisco, baby." He twirled his finger through a lock of her hair. "You know, you look a lot like her." He let out a small laugh.
The young woman glared at her partner and hissed, "Don't tell me you have a thing for her, Bobby!"
"Aw, come on, Alex, you know I only got eyes for you, baby," Bobby crooned, nuzzling his girlfriend's neck.
"You better keep it that way," Alex purred, closing her eyes contentedly. Thunder rolled in the background and she snuggled closer into her boyfriend's arms.
"Pretty big storm out there huh?" Bobby commented as he took a quick peek out the rain streaked window and saw lightning flash across the sky. "Don't worry, baby, you're safe here with me."