A/N: One last go-round with fantasy memories, and then the final story will come up (at least the final original story with Roarke). It may take me a while to write, but I'll try to make it the best I possibly can. And then it'll be time for me to start sifting through my original material among all the dozens of stories I've posted under the Fantasy Island category under both my noms de plume and adapting it for possible publication (while simultaneously writing new adventures for Christian and Leslie over on FictionPress). Just know that there will occasionally be new stories on here; some will be episode adaptations, and others will be original stories set during Leslie's teen years on the island. Enjoy...
§ § § - October 11, 2009
It had taken a long talk with the triplets the previous night before they would finally go to sleep, and Leslie felt worn out that morning when she, Christian and Roarke went over to the hospital to see how Anna-Kristina was doing. Her doctor met them at the door to her room, his face grave. "She had a bad night, I'm sorry to say," he said. "She was fine till she tried to sleep; then she had three nightmares, and according to her reports, each one was successively worse. She's asked for sedation again."
"Is that safe?" Christian asked, scowling.
"Your Highness, it's as safe for her now as it was this past week," said the doctor, his voice soothing. "She'll be fine, but we thought it best that you know." From inside the room they heard a voice call him; he excused himself and ducked inside.
"My love," Leslie said softly, "I know you're worried, but don't be so quick to jump down his throat. You act more like her father than her uncle."
"I feel like a stand-in for her father," Christian admitted apologetically. "I probably have for most of her life. But this time the sedation will be a full week."
She gave him a gentle poke in the chest and kidded him, "I think you just want someone to tease." She and Roarke both laughed when he rolled his eyes at her. "Ask whatever you want, just try to be less...well, imperial about it."
The doctor returned and beckoned them inside, and they filed in; Anna-Kristina was sitting up in bed, looking as tired as Leslie felt. She focused on Christian as soon as she spotted him and exclaimed, "Uncle Christian...I had the most horrid nightmares last night. I can't stand them. I don't exactly want to be unconscious, but I don't know another way to avoid them. Don't get angry if I ask to be comatose again, please."
Christian sat on the side of her bed and patted her shoulder. "I know, Kattersprinsessan, but you'll have to excuse me for worrying that it might be detrimental to you for some other reason than simply interfering with the amakarna serum. I just want to be able to send you back to Kai and your girls safe and sound, just as when you arrived, except without the burden of amakarna dependence. So try to overlook my hovering."
Anna-Kristina smiled at that, and the doctor cleared his throat, looking puzzled. "What was that you called her?"
Christian laughed, and Leslie explained with a grin, "It just means Princess of Cats, because she's had cats continuously ever since she was a little girl. Anyway, she's looking to be sedated till the end of her waiting period, and I guess we just need to know if that's safe, especially considering the length of time she's already been out."
"I'd think of it as a vacation," Anna-Kristina bantered. "Raising three girls is tiring, and being here—and sleeping away part of it—seems like quite a nice rest."
That got her a round of laughter, and the doctor shrugged. "Well, she's had no adverse reaction to being put under; she came out of it nicely yesterday when we brought her back, and she's responding well to the serum otherwise. No worries that you'll be the only failure, Your Highness. It's working on you just as well as it's worked on everyone else who's taken it since the very first trial period. So as long as your aunt and uncle give their consent and you authorize it, we can anesthetize you again, and when you wake up you should be good as new. No hallucinations or nightmares, and no more amakarna."
"And then we'll take you home and you'll start taking walks along our lane to help get your muscles back in proper working order," Christian added. "Lying in bed like that for too long will gradually atrophy your muscle tissue and make it more difficult for you to do things you take for granted, so it's as well you're staying till the end of the month; you can get them back in tone and you'll be fully recovered when you go home."
"Then I see no reason to wait," said Anna-Kristina. "Put me back in a coma, and then you can put all the tubes in me that you must. I ask only that we have the chance to talk about more fantasy memories after I wake up."
"You're obsessed," Leslie accused her laughingly. "We'll see about that. For now, let's just concentrate on getting you through the waiting period. Doctor, if this is what she wants and Christian agrees with it, then so do I."
Christian blew out a breath. "Outnumbered again, hm? Well enough, I suppose I can't say no when there's not enough risk to waste my time worrying about. However, if something does come up, I insist we be told immediately."
"Goes without saying, Your Highness," the doctor assured him. "Well, in that case, say good night, Princess, and rest well."
October 17, 2009
Rogan had had any number of questions for Roarke and Leslie the previous weekend, but had ultimately done well enough on his own that Roarke again put him in charge of the fantasies. The week had been uneventful; the triplets, who seemed to have bounced back from the bad news of the weekend—at least on the surface—were in the middle of their fundraising art project at school, and Christian spent his days in his office in town, while Leslie took Anastasia in with her to the main house and used most of her time scheduling fantasies for Rogan, well into the coming year. With Roarke's help, she began organizing the administrative committee that would oversee the more mundane functions involved in running the island and seeing that provision of civil services and utilities would continue without undue interruption during the coming transition.
On that sunny Saturday morning, Christian gave permission for Brianna Harding to take the triplets off to the pool, where they still loved paddling around in the nearby children's wading pool; for the first time since she had officially become Roarke's assistant more than nineteen years before, Leslie hadn't accompanied her father and cousin to the plane dock, sensing that she might do well to start easing into her own transition now. So she and Christian were sitting in the study, with Leslie behind the desk and Anastasia sleeping on Christian's shoulder, while Roarke and Rogan were greeting the latest guests.
"How many more fantasies do you plan to schedule for that cousin of yours?" Christian asked idly, watching her pencil in a couple more for a weekend in August.
Leslie glanced up. "Oh, I don't know...I guess as many as I can till I run out of dates in the date book." He chuckled low, mindful of the slumbering baby, and she grinned. "In fact, I had a bit of an ulterior motive in mind. I'm choosing a lot of fantasies where Rogan's going to need somebody to role-play, to keep an eye on the guest."
"Be careful of how many of those you do," Christian said. "By next September we'll be back in Lilla Jordsö. More likely we'll leave sometime during the second half of August, so that there's enough time to enroll the triplets in school." He placed a hand on Anastasia's back to hold her in place and leaned forward, as if he were trying to read her handwriting upside down. "Just what sorts of roles are you setting yourself up to play, anyhow?"
"All kinds of stuff. Historical figures, primarily. You might be able to play some roles yourself, if you want to. Since we were married, tourism here from Lilla Jordsö has been rising, slowly but steadily, and I've uncovered at least ten requests to see certain periods in jordisk history. It could be fun to go in and do that, like we did before."
"You'll have to be careful about that, or you'll have the triplets clamoring to join us in that role-playing. I have to admit, those experiences were quite enjoyable, although there are times when I think Anna-Laura would get more out of it than I would."
They laughed softly, and Christian settled back and watched Leslie continue filling in weekend slots. Roarke and Rogan returned as she turned the page to start filling in September requests, and they both looked around. "What do you have this weekend?" Christian asked Rogan, rising from the chair with the baby.
"Nothing unusual," Rogan replied, shrugging. "Coupla run-o'-the-mill things like people wantin' to live like millionaires and folks who want to meet ancestors. Keep it nice an' smooth like that, cousin, an' let me ease into this stuff nice an' gradual, an' ye'll have me eternal gratitude."
Leslie gave him a thoughtful look and remarked, "You should've said that earlier. Next weekend we have a guy who wants to emulate the lead character in that movie The Fly." Christian stared at her, a huge grin blooming across his face; Rogan looked horrified, and Roarke gave her an admonishing look.
"Now, Leslie, stop teasing your cousin," he said mildly.
Leslie blinked at him. "Who's teasing? Come over here and look for yourself," she said, showing her father the date book and the letter that matched the name of one of the fantasizers scheduled for the following weekend.
"Is that your way of trying to keep me busy until I must join the tribunal?" Roarke chided, though amusement sparkled from his dark eyes. "Really, Leslie...I must question your taste in allowing that one to be granted."
"I gave it to you for the usual screening process as far back as around the Fourth of July, and you told me to put it in for sometime in the fall. I think you had the idea that it could present Rogan's first real challenge," said Leslie. She turned to her aghast cousin and grinned. "It could give you an excuse to bring Rory in and see if he's capable of setting things up so this guy can be a disgusting, ultra-ugly, human-size fly."
"You'd better not tell Myeko about that one," Christian put in, and at that she broke into laughter, nodding agreement. Myeko still garnered teasing from her friends and family for her extreme aversion to houseflies.
"I can't believe I was stupid enough to agree when uncle suggested lettin' you plan out me work schedule till the end o' next year," Rogan groused, scowling fiercely. "Ye're truly a sadist, Leslie, no doubt of it. How ye stand it, Christian, I have no clue."
"He taught me," Leslie said with a smirk, and this time Christian laughed as well. He nodded merrily when Rogan threw him a look, and Roarke straightened up then with some effort, laughing himself.
"All right, the three of you, that will do. Christian and Leslie, you two may wish to keep an eye on the time, since Anna-Kristina is due to be awakened today and should be free to return home with you and begin her exercise regimen to complete her recovery. Rogan, you have preparations to make to interview our guests this weekend, so you may as well go to the kitchen and see to it that Mariki has the ingredients she needs for whatever beverages our guests may ask for. Oh, and Leslie, if you would kindly double-check the empty bungalows and make sure they are ready for any incidental guests..."
By the time all this was complete and the weekend's latest guests had been launched into their fantasies, it was time to go to the hospital. Leaving Anastasia with Roarke, Christian and Leslie took the car over, since it was their intention to take Anna-Kristina back to their house so that she could begin the remainder of her recovery. She was awakened with the same confusion as the first time, but her memory came back intact as before, and she told them all that she felt just fine. But when Christian and Leslie explained their plans for the day, she stared at them in dismay.
"What will I do all day, if you two are going back to the resort?" she asked. "I've read the books I brought already."
Leslie grinned. "We can set you up to watch 'King's Castle' DVDs for a while," she offered. "The first five seasons are out, so there's plenty to watch. Take a little walk around the front yard first, though, so you can get up and change disks when you need to—that'll help get your muscles moving."
"She goes out in a wheelchair, per hospital policy," her doctor told them, "but I'd suggest helping her walk to your car and then keeping an eye on her till she can walk at least a short distance—like across a room—unassisted. Once you're all sure she can manage on her own for a day, you can go about your business, but I recommend going back home tonight instead of staying at the main house."
They agreed, and about fifteen minutes later they were on the way home. Christian casually glanced at his Rolex, then looked again, remarking in surprise, "It's nearly lunchtime, my Rose. Suppose we prepare a full meal for the three of us before you and I go back to the resort? We should have the ingredients for those salmon patties with tropical salsa that Ingrid made for us when I brought you home the day after the triplets were born."
"I could make salad to go with it," Anna-Kristina volunteered. "Magga sent me that recipe some time ago; her Gudrun makes it all the time and they both love it, so we tried it and the girls all think it's delicious. So we have it frequently too."
"She must have asked Ingrid for the recipe," Christian said, sounding astonished. "I never would have thought she'd do that. In any case, a salad would be good with it too."
"I'm already hungrier than ever just thinking of it," Leslie agreed. "Okay, let's do it."
Leslie started chopping fruit and mixing ingredients for the salsa while Christian helped Anna-Kristina take a lap or two around the front yard, then monitored her while she made a couple of slow circuits on her own. Then he brought her inside, put her at the table with the salad ingredients, and set about putting the salmon cakes together. Within half an hour they were eating, and Anna-Kristina closed her eyes after the first bite and groaned. "Oh, these are simply divine," she sighed, her tone rapturous.
Christian grinned at his wife. "She's all but delirious," he said. "I suppose nearly two weeks without solid food is a good excuse to wax melodic over a simple meal."
Leslie laughed. "In that case, my love, give her a break, at least for today."
Christian set up the first DVD for his niece while Anna-Kristina paced back and forth across the room with careful, measured steps; once she stumbled, but Leslie caught her and helped her regain her footing. "This is silly," the princess complained. "I feel like such an invalid. I wish you didn't have to take so much trouble over me."
"It'll take time for you to get back to full normal," Leslie told her. "Just try to be patient with it. It'll be all right, you have plenty of time. For now, rest a little bit and have fun watching the show. I'll be at the main house the rest of the day, so I'll leave you my cell phone, and if you need anything or have any questions, just call one of us."
"I have only one question," Anna-Kristina said. "Do you think Mr. Roarke would be willing to come back here with you this evening, so you can remember some more fantasies? The triplets would love it too, I know. Could you ask him?"
Christian shook his head with amused resignation, and Leslie grinned. "I guess we can look into that. For right now, you just get into 'King's Castle' here, and we'll see what we can do."
It was mid-afternoon before Leslie had a chance to relay the request to Roarke, since one of the fantasies had developed a very peculiar snag that caught Rogan too far out of his depth to resolve on his own. When Roarke heard what Anna-Kristina had asked for, he let out a laugh. "I must admit, I'm not surprised. But I don't object; it will give me some extra time with my grandchildren, since there's no doubt the triplets will insist on listening in as well. Go ahead and call Anna-Kristina now, and let her know."
So that evening, after they'd had supper and the triplets were dressed in pajamas and clustered around their grandfather, and Anastasia was settled on her cousin's lap with a teething ring to gnaw on, Christian, Leslie and Roarke made themselves comfortable and looked at one another. "Is there to be a theme to this, as there was the last time you did it?" Christian asked.
"Maybe only in that I thought we could remember a couple more from the year Lawrence was here," Leslie said.
"Very well," Roarke agreed, "what do you have in mind?"
Leslie smiled. "Well, how about this?..."