Chapter Nine: Brothers, part two
"Bye, John!"
"I'll see you at five-thirty, okay? Be good, and for God's sake, don't reveal anyone's embarrassing life stories."
"I won't, I promise." Annalise crossed her fingers in her pocket. She had already promised Maddie that she would do exactly that.
Annalise had been to Maddie's mother's house twice, and Maddie had been to Baker Street once (now that was an interesting day). But this was Annalise's first time at Maddie's dad and stepmother's. And she was planning on helping her best friend get revenge on her stepbrother.
"Maddie? Is Annalise here?" a woman's voice called from somewhere. To Annalise's surprise and pleasure, she pronounced her name correctly.
"Yeah, Kathy," Maddie called back.
"Is her dad still here?" Annalise frowned at this.
"Kathy, I told you, John's not Annalise's dad."
"Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry. But is he still here?"
"No, he just left." Maddie gave Annalise's hand a small squeeze.
A blond woman with blue eyes came down the hallway. Annalise immediately noticed that the hair was dyed and she wore contact lenses, but she kept this to herself. "You must be Annalise," said the woman. "I'm Kathy, Maddie's stepmom. Maddie's told me so much about you. It's so nice to finally meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," said Annalise with a little smile. "Maddie's told me about you, too. Thanks for letting me come over."
"Oh, it's our pleasure, sweetheart." Unlike Mrs. Thomson, Kathy seemed genuinely kind without being annoying. "Now tell me, did I pronounce your name correctly? Maddie told me that you're sensitive about that and I certainly want to make sure that I got it right."
Annalise grinned broadly. "Yeah, you got it right," she replied. "And thanks for asking. There are some people who don't think it matters."
"Of course it matters!" Kathy seemed a bit indignant. "It's your name. Your name is a part of who you are. And it's a lovely name, too. Who said it didn't matter?"
Anthea, Annalise thought with disdain, but she realized that telling Kathy about Mycroft The-British-Government Holmes's PA was probably not the best idea. So, instead, she answered, nonchalance coloring her voice, "If they said my name doesn't matter, then they don't really matter to me, either."
"Well said, Annalise," Kathy chuckled. "Maddie did tell me how clever you are. Now, would you two like something to eat? I just took some chocolate-chip cookies out of the oven."
"Oh, yes, please!" Annalise and Maddie spoke in sync.
"I figured. Come on into the kitchen, girls."
"Kathy's cookies are legendary," Maddie explained as they sat down. "They're the best cookies ever."
The girls were quietly enjoying their cookies when suddenly a large, shaggy, dark-haired dog came rushing at them.
"Whoa! Down, Jack! Down!" Maddie hugged the dog, and he quieted. "This is my dog, Jack," she explained. "I named him after Jack Harkness from Doctor Who."
"What's that?" Annalise asked curiously.
Maddie's jaw dropped. "You don't know Doctor Who?"
Annalise shook her head. "No, what is it?"
"Only the best television show ever! Kathy, Annalise doesn't know Doctor Who!"
"Really? You've never even heard of it?" Kathy raised an eyebrow as she gave each girl a glass of milk.
"I haven't exactly had much access to a television for most of my life," Annalise muttered so only Maddie could hear her.
Maddie caught on (why could Maddie ascertain this stuff and not Sherlock?) and quickly replied, "Well, can I show Annalise? Please, Kathy?"
"Yeah, of course." Kathy grinned. "Maddie just loves that show. It's a good show, too. I think you'll like it."
"Yes!" Maddie cheered. "Oh, you'll just love it, Annalise. It's amazing. Wanna watch with us, Kathy?"
"No, I've got a phone call to make, but you should ask Sean if he wants to watch."
"Sean... that's your stepbrother?" Annalise grinned mischievously.
Maddie, in her typical fashion, got the picture immediately. "Yeah... Let's go ask Sean." She took Annalise's hand and led her upstairs.
They reached a closed door with an S on the front. Someone - obviously Sean - was talking from behind the door. "Hold on," Annalise murmured. "Let me listen." She pressed her ear to the keyhole, making sure she made a bit of sound, but Sean continued talking as normal. Wearing headphones while talking. Skype call. She listened closer, and could soon make out his words.
"So, the usual time?"
"Yeah, I've got class. I always have class then, but who cares?"
"Sure I pass. I just threaten some kid to give me the answers, spend the night before a test studying, so my mom thinks I'm studious and shit."
"Yeah, I know, right? Total idiots. Anyway. My place this time, or yours? Up to you."
"Right then, my place it is. We'll just have to be more careful this time. Mom nearly saw a lipstick stain on my pillow last week."
Annalise took a quick glance at Maddie, who hadn't heard any of what Sean was saying. Oh, this will be fun. She motioned to Maddie to knock on the door.
Maddie knocked quickly. "Sean?"
"Hold on a sec, Ella. What do you want, midget?"
"Just wanted to know if you want to watch Doctor Who with me and Annalise."
"Who the bloody hell is Annalise?"
"My best friend from school. She's never seen Doctor Who before." Annalise was rather shocked at her friend's calm demeanor. Had Sean been her brother, she probably would have slapped him.
"I've got better things to do than suffer through an hour with Little Miss Princess Perfect and her stupid friends. Now get out of here so I can-"
"-Make plans to play hooky from school and then blackmail another student into giving you the information you missed because you were too busy in bed with your girlfriend? Again?"
Maddie's eyes widened in shock. She nearly burst out laughing. Annalise, on the other hand, remained steely calm. "My name's Annalise," she said icily, "and if I were you, Sean, I'd be very careful. I certainly have no interest in revealing your... extracurricular activities with Ella... but I do rash things when angered, and if you continue to be rude to me or to Maddie, I might let it... slip."
Sean opened the door and grabbed Annalise by the shirt. "How the hell do you know-" But he was stopped by Annalise kicking him hard in a sensitive spot. He made a sound like a little girl and let go.
"The same way that I know everything about everyone," the redhead replied coldly, and then she lowered her voice. "I'm brilliant." And with a toss of her fiery red hair, she turned away from Sean, took Maddie's hand, and led her away. A thought came to her. Pausing for a moment, she turned and called, "I'm guessing that's a no to Doctor Who, then?"
There was, as she predicted, no response. Annalise looked at Maddie, and the two burst out laughing as they took off down the stairs.
"That," Annalise muttered as they sat down on Maddie's (incredibly comfortable) sofa, slightly breathless from running "was ridiculously easy."
"Easy?" Maddie's shock was palpable. "That was easy?!"
"Child's play." Annalise grinned slightly as she realized how very much she sounded like Sherlock.
"How did you do it?" Maddie's eyes widened as though she were seeing a particularly good magic trick.
"Simple. I listened."
"Listened?"
"He was in the middle of a Skype call. I listened in. And he told me everything I needed to know."
"Oh..." Maddie was still in awe for a few moments, but then shook it off. "Doctor Who, then?"
"You bet." And the two girls shared a smile at their victory.
Hello my lovelies! This chapter is dedicated to my friend Feyga, who had the exact same thought as I did when our dance teacher told us not to blink.
So, a bit more of Maddie and Annalise. I take back what I said about Maddie earlier; I think she's going to have a bigger role in this story than what I originally anticipated. Hope you guys don't mind! :)
My lovely beta reader, livvykitty, has suggested that Maddie and Annalise are like a mini Fem! version of Sherlock and John. I see where she sees that, but I will tell you that they aren't exactly meant to parallel Sherlock and John, at least within Spark. As you see in the description, this is eventually going to become Johnlock, and Maddie and Annalise are not going to be any more than good friends. I suppose the "bromance" aspect of John and Sherlock is captured a bit in the girls, but that's all it's gonna be. Sorry!
As usual, don't forget to submit to the Sweepstakes (details in the chapter 6 AN) by PM'ing or emailing kathrynwilla at "google mail" (this thing still makes me write in code).
Love always,
Kathryn-Willa
