The Fine Print: DK and HBO own them; we just take them out to play.

Note: With the impending Armageddon, we thought Iris, Justin, and Sofie could use a little fun. So from the seeds of Dana's brilliant idea at the chat the other night, grows this collaborative fanfic. Dana has written Chapters 1, 2, and 5. I wrote 3 and 4.

Red Red Wine

Chapter One

by Dana (twinb80)

As Sofie rounded the corner of the house, she found Miss Iris Crowe sitting on the steps. Sofie was a little taken aback by the sight that greeted her. She had always seen Miss. Crowe in a fairly good mood and she was always doing some errand or another to do with the Temple of Jericho. Sofie had been running errands down in the migrant camp and was now heading back to the house to finish her chores. She had recently started to talk with Miss Crowe and Sofie found her to be a kind hearted, if dominating, woman. Sofie figured that had to do with the type of life Miss Crowe lead but she hadn't wanted to pry into her new employer's business. It would have been like going into Management's trailer without Sampson's permission. Not that she had ever been in Management's trailer. No only Sampson and Professor Lodz had gone in there and Sofie had never thought to try and go in herself. Sofie shook her head and made herself remember where she was. The Carnivale was her other life and she needed to let that life go.

Her eyes fell on Miss Crowe again and Sofie felt sorry for her sitting there on the stairs. Miss Crowe appeared lonely. Sofie recalled how earlier that morning she had heard Brother Justin and his sister in another argument upstairs. Sofie couldn't hear what they were saying but their voices had been loud and then she had heard a door slam and watched as Brother Justin left the house. Sofie had never had a brother or a sister so she didn't know how those types of relationships worked. She knew that Brother Justin and his sister cared for each other, but lately there had been much hostility between them and Sofie didn't understand why this was. She made her way over to the stairs and coughed politely into her hand. Miss Crowe didn't look up but continued to stare off into space. Her hands were in her lap and her knees were pulled up underneath her dress. To Sofie she looked like a lost child. She wanted to make things right since Miss Crowe had taken a liking to her and talked with her about her late mother. To Sofie's amazement, she had learned that Miss Crowe herself had lost her mother at a young age like her, and Sofie had felt a little connection there. She tried again to get Miss Crowe's attention but it didn't work.

Sofie wondered what had made Miss Crowe so quiet and tried to think of a way to cheer her up. She really didn't know that much about Miss Crowe but she tried to think of what would cheer her up if she was feeling down. Her mind flashed on Libby and the Carnivale. They had become friends before Sofie found out that Jonesy was seeing Libby's mom. Sofie had never really had a friend before because her time had always been spent with Mama. But Libby turned out to be a great friend and they had a few laughs here and there. That was what Miss Crowe needed. She needed to laugh and to have a good time. One of the best times Libby and her had was when they were drinking Mescal on the back of the truck. Sofie grinned at the memory but then thought maybe Miss Crowe wouldn't approve of Mescal. Sofie frowned but she couldn't think of anything else. She coughed into her hand again and when she didn't get a reaction, she decided to sit down next to Miss Crowe on the stairs.

Iris Crowe had been staring out at the scenery around her when she suddenly caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned and found Sofie sitting next to her. Iris was startled because she hadn't seen Sofie return. But here she was sitting next to her and she had a huge grin on her face. Iris blinked her eyes and asked her what was so funny. Sofie didn't say anything and Iris wondered what the girl was up too.

"Miss Crowe...I know it ain't my place to say so but you look sad."

"I am not sad Sofie. I am just sitting here thinking."

"About?"

"That's really none of your busy young lady."

"I know it isn't but you look like you could use a friend."

Iris was taken back at what Sofie had said to her. Did she really look that in need of companionship? Earlier that day Justin and her had gotten into another argument and he had stormed out of the house leaving her behind. Again. She had wandered around the house doing mundane housework and then had found her way out here on the porch. Iris liked the view the porch had and at first she had just stood on the top stairs taking in God's mountains. As she stood there she thought of Justin and how he had been treating her lately. She had thought after Tommy Dolan had been taken away by the police that she and Justin would go back to the way they were. They hadn't. And now she was here alone again. She had drifted down the stairs intending to go for a walk to the pond but she hadn't made it there. Instead she sat down on the stair and pulled her legs underneath her like the child she used to be. Her mind had wandered to the past and her memories of happier days replayed in her mind. She hadn't noticed when Sofie came back and now the girl was telling her that she needed a friend. Iris sighed and took the girl's hand in hers.

"That is very thoughtful of you, dear. But you don't have to worry about me. I am ok."

"If you say so, Miss Crowe. But what it looks like to me is that you need to have a good time. Have a few laughs. Me and my best friend used to have laughs when we drank together."

Iris didn't know what to say to this. She hadn't really had a drink since Tommy Dolan had come courting her last year. He had brought a bottle of wine and they had listened to his record of his interview with Val Templeton. Iris really wasn't a drinker and she had become a little intoxicated by her second glass of wine. Wine. She still had that wine bottle around the new house. It had been one of the things packed away when they had moved. Iris had packed the bottle away herself so that the migrants hadn't seen and started asking unnecessary questions. The bottle had been put in the back of the refrigerator and then forgotten. Iris smiled to herself and told Sofie to follow her. They went into the house and then found their way to the kitchen. Iris opened the refrigerator door and pushed aside the contents until she found the wine bottle in the back. To her surprise, she found another bottle back there and then remembered that one of Justin's radio supporters had sent it. She grabbed both of the bottles and shut the door with her foot. When she turned around, she found that Sofie had already grabbed two glasses from the cabinets. Iris grinned and they made their way to the living room.