A Caroline in the City/Northern Exposure Crossover
by Ann Fox and Sarah Stella
1998
Winner of 1998 CitC fanfic mailing list contest: "Best Crossover fanfic"
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Part Nine
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Inside his small and lonely cabin, Ed sat down on his rickety old bed and stared thoughtfully at his framed and autographed print of Woody Allen's "Sleeper". His eyes became unfocused and glassy as he contemplated the best way to go about it. What would be the best way to approach the situation?
Ed knew the Green Man; he knew him a little better than he wished to. While it was going to be up to Richard to beat him, Ed knew his role was just as important--initiating the encounter. Meekness, however, he was not as familiar with; he'd never had to deal with her personally. Meekness often worked in tandem with Self-doubt, and Ed found it somewhat unusual that neither the cartoonist nor her colorist were being plagued by the other's demon. As he thought about it, there really didn't seem to be any one outstanding way to solve the problem. What he needed to do was to get Caroline and Richard in the same room with their demons--to simply acknowledge their presence. That was the most important thing. Ed knew that both Richard and Caroline had realized what was happening to them, but he wasn't sure if they'd ever tried forcing their demons to show themselves.
Perhaps they were too afraid.
"Step one," muttered Ed to himself as he considered this. "What then?"
While he didn't receive an answer right then and there, he was at least comforted by the idea that he'd sent the right energy out into the universe. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait for a reply.
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Shut away in separate bedrooms connected by an adjoined bathroom, Caroline and Richard found themselves too exhausted to even think, and drifted off into sleep just moments after their heads hit the pillow. Caroline had expected to be plagued by visions of tiny elfin women and little green men, but to her shock, she awoke alert and refreshed sometime around 5:30 P.M. Richard, likewise, had expected the same, but napped peacefully and without incident. Caroline walked over to the bathroom door and knocked gently just to be sure Richard wasn't inside. When there was no answer, she stepped inside and closed the door.
From the comfort of the box-spring oak bed, Richard listened to the running water as Caroline went about her business.
Decisively, he got out of bed, went over to the mirror above the dresser and glanced briefly at his reflection. A little disheveled, but after running his hands through his sandy hair once, he felt presentable enough. He grabbed his shoes and went downstairs. When Caroline finished in the bathroom, she quietly pressed her ear to the door leading to Richard's room, listening carefully for any signs of movement. Hearing nothing, she assumed he must still be asleep. She left through her own door and headed downstairs, thinking that perhaps Maurice had dinner ready.
Maurice was sitting in the den in a black leather La-Z-Boy watching C-Span on his projection TV when Richard appeared in the doorway. Perceiving a movement out of the corner of his eye, Maurice looked up. When he saw Richard, his face completely transformed; the scowl which almost had to be his regular expression shifted into a silly grin as he stood. Hitting mute on the television, he walked over to Richard. "Have a nice rest, my boy?"
Richard nodded. "It was good."
Maurice slapped him on the back. "Well, that's great. Is your little lady friend out of the sack yet?"
Gritting his teeth through the obvious innuendo, Richard simply replied, "I don't know."
Maurice pushed him gently toward the stairs. "Well, how's about you go find out, then? As soon as she gets her little behind down here, we can have some dinner." He went off towards the kitchen.
A little annoyed at the man's demeanor but hungry enough to ignore it, Richard agreed and started for the wooden steps. Just as he was about to begin the climb, Caroline appeared at the top.
"Oh, hey, Richard," she said, her voice thick with the effects of sleep. "I thought you were still asleep."
She started down the stairs. "No. I just got up," he replied. "Supper's ready."
Smiling, she exclaimed, "Great! I'm starving."
"Me too," Richard agreed.
Maurice joined them. "Well, folks, we have a lovely filet mignon." Once again, his French accent was so lacking that Richard (who held an inherent loathing towards the French as a people) was taken slightly aback. It seemed to him that Maurice probably had no idea that the words he was pronouncing were even part of a language other than English. He remembered what Maggie had said--in a nutshell: don't piss him off. He got the feeling Maurice wouldn't give a rat's ass if he brought it up anyway, so he kept his mouth closed. "And," continued Maurice, "as a special treat for you, we have caviar. And of course, a bottle of the finest grape juice from 1929."
Caroline's eyes widened. She'd never had such hospitality from a stranger. It was almost too overwhelming.
"Come in and have a seat in the dining room and we'll have you fed in no time."
Richard and Caroline dined pleasurably with Maurice, making small talk about the marvels of living in New York City, the success of her comic strip, and what it was like to travel in space. After complimenting Maurice's fine cuisine, Caroline and Richard were rewarded with an offer of a few games of pool in the billiard room. Having left the table with full stomachs and a renewed feeling of exhaustion, they politely declined. The consensus was an early trip to bed for all of them, and they retired to their respective rooms.
"G'night, Richard," Caroline said outside her bedroom door.
"Night, Caroline," he replied softly. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "I'm glad you dragged me up here."
"Well, hey if it takes that much discomfort to fly 100,000 miles for a free taste of grape juice and whale, it's worth it, wouldn't you say?"
Smiling, he nodded. "See you tomorrow." He disappeared into his room and shut the door gently behind him.
Caroline did the same, and as she undressed, she realized that she hadn't had a shower in about thirty-five hours. Her hair and skin felt a little oily, but she was too exhausted to move, let alone stand up for much longer, so she decided it could wait until the morning. Without another thought, she slid underneath the rumpled sheets and was out like a light. In the bedroom next door, Richard had also succumbed to sleep. Maurice lay awake downstairs, cursing his insomnia and thinking about what he was going to serve his guests for breakfast. He was feeling somewhat out of his element with all the hospitality he was showing these New Yorkers, and part of him wondered what had come over him.
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Alex and Gwen spent the day shopping and sightseeing all over the city, but it was the people-watching that fascinated Alex the most. Not having grown up in a big city the way Gwen had, she was amazed at the diversity of the city's inhabitants. Despite this enchantment, she felt completely out of place. "I don't think I can live here," she confessed to Gwen in Times Square.
Gwen put her arm around her cousin. "Don't worry about it, Alex. It just takes some getting used to."
"Are you sure? I mean, this place is extremely cool, but I don't feel like there's any place for me here. Does that make any sense?" Alex asked.
"Sure; it makes lots of sense. But you've only been here a day. And you aren't alone, so that should give you some peace of mind."
"See," argued Alex, "that's just the thing. You can't very well walk down the streets here alone without worrying about getting murdered and raped and whatever else the psycho who catches you is creative enough to come up with. Even walking with you, I still feel that way. I keep checking my pocket every five minutes to make sure some pickpocket hasn't run off with my wallet."
Gwen shrugged at her cousin. "Just try not to think about it. Besides, what do you have in that wallet that any thief would find valuable?"
Alex scrunched up her nose. Gwen was right; she didn't have a whole lot. "That isn't the point," she proclaimed. "It's the principle of the thing."
Gwen laughed. "Alex, just relax. People are going to know you're not a city girl from your posture alone. And...breathe!"
Alex exhaled loudly. "I'm sorry, Gwen. I just can't help it. She looked around at the passers-by anxiously. "Do you wanna just go home and order a pizza or something and come back tomorrow? I'm getting a headache. And I couldn't find my Darwin fish."
Gwen nodded. "Okay. But tomorrow I'm going to show you some of the essentials of living in a big city, so be prepared."
"Fine," agreed Alex. The muscles in her shoulders relaxed a bit as they headed back to the subway.
"Maybe tomorrow Annie can take us around," suggested Gwen. "She knows more about the city than either of us."
"That's assuming she ever comes home from her rendezvous with Seth," Alex commented. "You know," she mused, "Annie has gone out with tons of guys."
"Well, that's the understatement of the year," Gwen interjected, laughing. Alex raised her eyebrows in annoyance at being interrupted. "Go on," said Gwen.
"Thank you," said Alex sarcastically. "Anyway, I was saying that she keeps talking about Seth like he's the greatest thing that's ever happened to her. I've never heard her talking serious about any guy before."
"Yeah, you're right," realized Gwen.
"Do you think they're serious?" Alex wondered.
"Maybe," Gwen said. "Although, I somehow have trouble picturing Annie married, if that's where you're going with that."
"Annie wouldn't be wearing white on her wedding day, that's for sure," said Alex with a chuckle. Gwen laughed too. The girls boarded the subway in companionable silence, listening to the bustle of the passengers around them. When the train pulled away from the station, Alex asked, "Gwen? Do you think Ed was cute?"
Smiling evilly, Gwen drawled, "Of cauhhhse, my dahhhhling."
Alex rolled her eyes. "I wonder if he has a girlfriend." Gwen turned serious for a moment. "You know, he really doesn't seem like the type of guy who spends a lot of time worrying about romance."
"True," agreed Alex. "He has lots of other more important things to worry about. Plus, he seems kind of shy."
"And you know," said Gwen thoughtfully, "if he already battled the demon of Self-doubt, he was probably even more introverted before."
Alex took a moment to consider this. "I wonder how they're all doing up there in Alaska." The girls looked each other in the eyes and at that instant they came to a mutual understanding. They knew *exactly how things were going for Richard and Caroline, and for their kindred spirit, Ed.
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Continued in Part Ten
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Please visit my Caroline in the City webpage: Sincere Amore