…
Ford returned to the clinic in a much better mood. Wayne saw the smile on his face and taunted, "Somebody got a kiss!"
Ludus sat straight up in his bed and said, "He got what."
Ford rolled his eyes and said, "It is rude to make assumptions."
"It's not an assumption when there is lipstick on your face," Wayne said jokingly.
When Ford tried to wipe the nonexistent lipstick off, he unintentionally told on himself.
"Dude, it was on the mouth too?!" Wayne said excitedly.
Ludus, was steadily getting angrier. "How dare you touch my woman?" He said before trying to get out the bed. His knee buckled before he could even get one leg out the bed.
Wayne joked, "Somehow, I think Ford prefers you this way."
Ludas crossed his arms angrily and said, "Don't worry, there is more than one way to skin a doctor."
Ford ignored Ludus and said, "I won't make it to the grill tonight."
Wayne smiled and replied, "That's alright, I will just hang out at the bar with Brad tonight. I gotta finish delivering the mail, so I will talk to you tomorrow.
Ford waved him off and walked over to the tea pot on the table next to Ludus. He grabbed the tea pot and said, "This is the only tea pot I have, so you will have to share it with us tonight."
Ludus nodded and seemed to ignore him for a while. Little did Ford know as he placed the tea pot back on the table, that Ludus was formulating a plan.
…
As Ford cooked dinner upstairs, Ludus looked at the bottle labels on the nearby shelves. 'tea tree oil, Epsom salt, headache powder, baby formula, digestive relief blend, truth powder…' he read down the line. When Ludus saw the truth powder serum, he turned the bottle around and read, 'blend two tablespoons with 8 ounces of water. Consumption of mixture will make emotions more powerful and cause difficulties silencing one's thoughts. For best effect, use within 4 hours of mixing.' Ludus smiled and poured a generous amount into the tea pitcher. He then placed the bottle back into the shelf and waited.
…
Holly arrived about 30 minutes later. She greeted Ludus at the door, and asked, "Is Ford upstairs?"
Ludus nodded, and asked, "Holly, would you mind bringing him this tea upstairs. I accidentally stepped on one of those animal traps."
"Ah, so it was you," she said, "No problem, we will bring you a tray of food as soon as it is ready."
Ludus nodded as she carried the tea up the steps.
…
Holly saw Ford pulling some fish with vegetables out the oven. "It smells wonderful," she said as she placed the tea on the counter. She reached up to where Ford kept the cups and poured him a glass before pouring herself one. Ford took a sip of his tea and smiled, "so do you."
Holly giggled a little at his response and said, "I think I will go set the table."
While Holly worked on fixing the table, Ford reprimanded himself, 'so do you?... What are you saying? Are you trying to make her think you're crazy?'
Ford fixed a plate and a glass of tea for Ludus. He placed it on a tray and carried it downstairs to his bed. Ludus looked at him with a smile and asked, "How is the date going?"
Ford raised an eyebrow skeptically, "fine?"
"Not for long," Ludus mumbled before digging into his food. Ford ignored his comment and went back upstairs to find Holly acting peculiar.
Holly was sitting at the table swirling the tea around her glass and asked, "Ford, how can you drink this stuff. It tastes like shit." Ford was thrown off slightly by her bluntness, but replied, "You don't have to drink it, if you don't like it. However, it does have cinnamon in it, which is natural aphrodisiac. I thought it would make me seem more desirable." After he spoke, he instantly put his hand in front of his mouth. 'What is wrong with me? Why would I say something like that,' he thought to himself, 'Oh god, this is embarrassing.'
Holly tried to ignore his last comment and simply made a glass of water. She could tell that Ford was increasingly becoming uncomfortable and said, "Ford, you don't need to use aphrodisiacs to attract me. Just a single look in your eyes is enough to make me want to claim your lips as my own." She walked towards him, and gently pressed her lips against his.
As much as Ford wanted to enjoy this, he knew that something was wrong. Holly had always been forward with him, but this was strange, even for her. Ford excused himself and went down the stairs to look at the shelf of medicines. He noticed that one medicine bottles backwards on the shelf. He being the neat freak he was, he knew that he didn't do it. He turned the bottle around and saw that it was the truth powder. He turned to Ludus and said, "You did this."
Ludus smiled and said, "Yes, but unfortunately I forgot I that I spiked the whole pot and took a sip with dinner."
"How much of this did you put in the tea pot?" Ford asked.
Ludus shrugged and answered, "1/4 a bottle or so."
Ford's eyes got wide, and he returned upstairs to dump the rest of the tea down the drain. Holly came up from behind him and hugged him from behind. She started to kiss his neck and whispered, "I think the aphrodisiac is working."
Ford turned around and noticed, that she unbuttoned a few buttons on her shirt. It took everything in his power to say, "Stop."
Holly stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ludus spiked the tea. It made our feelings stronger, and our thoughts nearly uncontrollable. I will fix you a plate to take home, but you must leave before we both do or say something we are going to regret," Ludus explained.
Holly frowned and asked, "Can't we ever have a day together without any misunderstandings or disruptions?" Holly covered her face with her hands and started to cry.
Ford placed his hands on her shoulders and replied, "We will, but just not today." He fixed her a plate of food and walked her to the front door. Suddenly, she started to grow tired, and muttered "I am so sleepy all of a sudden."
Ford nodded, "Patients generally get tired as the serum weakens. I'll walk you home. Thank god you didn't drink more than a sip."
Just as she was about to leave, Ludus saw her slightly unbuttoned blouse and said, "Holly, seeing this much of you makes me want to watch you strip again."
Ford turned around in anger and asked, "You did what?"
Holly grabbed his wrist and said, "Don't jump to conclusions. Come with me."
Ford gazed back at Ludus, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat, before following Holly out the door.
Outside the door, Holly said, "Now we can do this two ways, I can tell you what he meant now, while your emotions are completely out of whack, and risk you killing Ludus. Or, I could explain it to you tomorrow morning, after the serum's effects have worn off completely. Regardless of what you decide, I suggest you have Wayne spend the night, to prevent any unfortunate events."
Ford let out an irritated sigh, he wanted to know now, but knew it was probably not the best action. He started to walk towards the farm, and Holly followed, feeling uncertain about his reaction to the situation.
By the time they reached the farm, Ford was literally shaking. Holly couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed his hand and said, "I will tell you what happened tonight, if you promise to stay with me until the serum wears off tomorrow."
Ford drank a whole glass, and the thoughts in his head were maddening. He knew that until the truth serum wore off, he should probably stay with someone. He nodded and followed her into the farm house.
She sat him on the bed, and then sat next to him, "As you already know, my house doesn't have a kitchen or a bathroom yet. So, every morning, when I wake up I go down to the pond to take a bath." Holly paused and looked at Ford to gauge his response to her. He stopped shaking and seemed to be getting sleepy. She snuggled up against him and continued, "One evening, after working out in the fields. I went down to the pond to bathe. I took off my clothes and got into the water, when I heard something move. It was Ludus. I quickly covered myself up and asked him to leave."
Ford was so tired, he was leaning on her for support. But, he was relieved that the incident was completely innocent…at least on her end. Holly knew that he was exhausted, so she laid him back on the bed, took off his shoes, and snuggled into him.
Before he fell completely asleep, he said, "Please, don't use the pond anymore. You can use the shower in the clinic until you get a bathroom built."
She smiled and replied, "Sure. Just get some sleep."