Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply
Author's Note: Heh heh, I'm back for more. Chapter 6 did seem like it could be an ending, but of course knowing me I just couldn't end it there. This chapter I think is a bit of a tension release chapter, at least for little old me, the author. Warning, I sorta made it a bit long. Please R&R! Also, my eternal gratitude goes out to all the people who reviewed this story so far. Thank you all, I love you! I really really appreciate it. Again, this is for you, Quintia.
Love will not Die
Part VII
By, Silver Fox
For the time being, things had returned as close to normal as possible for the lives of Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia. Though Dorothy nearly died of a seizure while having her heart transplant, she was alive and in good health. Quatre had survived a deadly drug interaction, and now was perfectly healthy again. The two of them were back at Quatre's mansion, and for the first time, they could enjoy just being with each other. One morning, Dorothy woke up and went in the bathroom. She closed the door behind her. She sighed heavily as she turned the lights on. She reached for the medicine chest, and took out her medicine cream. She looked at her reflection.
"It's funny, but for the first time in my life I'm not ashamed to look at my reflection. I don't hate myself anymore."
She unscrewed the cap of her scar minimizing cream, squirted some in her hand, and pulled her shirt down a little so she could see her scar. Much as she hated to admit it, the look of it bothered her a little. She wasn't comfortable with wearing scoop necklines anymore, because the scar was in plain site when she wore them. She shook her head and smiled a weak smile.
"This scar shouldn't bother me so much. It only proves that I lived through my surgery. If I hadn't have had it, I know I would have died." She stood up straight and tall. "In fact, I'm proud of it. It shows my bravery. It shows that I'm me. Though, I still don't think I'll wear any scoop necks just yet." She started to rub the cream on very gently, when she heard and noise and dropped the bottle.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, your worshiper, can I come in, or are you not descent?"
She chuckled and opened the door. "Even if I wasn't descent, I'm sure you wouldn't mind."
"Um, uh." He blushed and his face turned beet red. She laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "So," he was slowly regaining normal color in his face, "what are you doing in here?"
"I'm putting on my face."
"Oh, I didn't realize it came out of a bottle." He moved behind her and put his arms around her kissing her neck as she was facing the mirror. "I always thought the goddess look came natural to you."
"I'm just kidding you. I'm actually using my scar cream."
"Oh." He rubbed her arms. "Does that still bother you?" he asked gently.
She shook her head. "No, it really doesn't anymore." She gazed at the reflection of her with her beloved. "I think I've accepted it now. It's sort of like a symbol of pride, showing I was brave enough to survive. So in a way, I'm proud of it."
Gratitude showed on his face. "I'm glad. I'm glad I have you. I'm so lucky."
"Yes, you are lucky, just like me."
"Well, I'll let you take your shower now." He turned to go out the door, but she grabbed his arm.
"Why don't we take ours together, to save water?" she was grinning wickedly.
He was blushing again. "Um, sure, ok, to save water. Yeah, that'd be good." He smiled weakly as she pulled him into the shower with her.
****
"Winner Residence, may I help you?"
Rashid had picked up the phone, as it was his job to. The tall man slicked his brown hair back with his hand. The person on the other end was a man, and was asking for Quatre.
"Please hold." Rashid put the phone down and walked down the hall to Quatre's bedroom. Upon seeing that he wasn't there, he walked straight to the bathroom. He was about to knock on the door, and was puzzled to hear the shower going and two giggling voices. He put two and two together and instantly blushed. He made his way back to the phone.
"I'm sorry, he's unavailable right now. May I take a message?"
Rashid scribbled down a note that said call the person back. "Thank you, I'll deliver this right away." He hung up the phone and felt a little uneasy. "Well, I'll deliver this to Quatre as he's.uh, done." He walked off to tend to the calling of the cook.
**** Quatre and Dorothy walked arm in arm out of his bedroom after they got dressed. Quatre was still blushing a little bit, but Dorothy rubbed his shoulder.
"Don't worry, you were wonderful."
"Oh good, I was worried about that."
She put her head on his shoulder. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, I was thinking that I should check with Rashid to see if there's anything I need to do. I do have to handle that big case and-,"
"I have a better idea," she cut him off. "How about the two of us go off and have fun and forget about work?"
"Well," Quatre tried to decide, "I don't know. I mean I do have a lot of work to do. And I don't know if this case can afford to wait." He looked at her giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes.
"Please Quatre? Just for today, and I promise you can go back to work tomorrow. Pretty please?"
Quatre squirmed a little. He would say no, but her look just melted him. "Oh, ok, ok. Jeez, you can make me do just about anything."
She smiled. "Well that's good to know. Let's leave now. I'll drive."
"Now? But, I should tell Rashid we're going, and I do have a chauffer."
"No, let's just take off, it's more spontaneous that way. And as for the chauffer, screw that! I wanna drive today." She saw his worried face and sighed. "Just write him a note, saying we'll be back soon."
"Ok, I'll do that." Quatre picked up the pen and paper, and neatly wrote out a note.
"Ok, I did it."
"Good, now let's get out of here before anyone stops us." She took Quatre's hand and dragged him out the door. She looked back at his somewhat nervous face. "Don't worry, this'll be fun, and you need a break, you work too much."
"I work less with you around..." he mumbled to himself as his lively blonde angel dragged him out to his car garage. She stopped for a moment to choose a car.
"Hmm, now which one do I want? Not the limo, not the minivan.I know! I want the corvette!"
Quatre was a little hesitant upon hearing her answer. "Um, I don't know about that. I mean, that's a 67 vette, in mint condition. It's never even been driven before!"
"Does it have a full tank of gas?"
"Well, yes."
"Then give me the keys, that's the one we're taking."
"Um, Dorothy, please, just consider taking another one. It's in mint condition!"
"I'm not leaving this garage unless it's in that car. Come on, are you ever going to sell it or anything?"
"Of course not, but it's in mint condition!"
"Well what good is a car unless you can drive it, at least once."
He sighed, trying to talk her down from this. "Dorothy, my sweet, my angel, I love you, you know that. But I'm begging you, not that car!"
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Look, if you let me drive that car, I promise I'll be really, really careful. It'll come back looking just like it did, I promise. Now, will you please just let me take that car, because there's no way you're going to talk me out of it."
He desperately tried to think of some kind of retort, but he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't win this one, so he reluctantly handed her the keys. She took them joyfully and sprinted to the car. He followed slowly, looking defeated.
"Oh come on," she said as he got in and closed the door, "You need this day out as much as I do, and having a cool car only makes it better." He still had a defeated face on. "Hey, I bet you after today you'll have a different expression on your face, and it'll be a happy one."
He smiled. "Ok, I trust you. So, will you at least tell me what our plan for the day is?"
She got a big smile. "That's the whole fun part, there is no plan! We're gonna make up as we go along."
He got a little scared. "We don't even know where we're going? But, every time I go on a trip I always have everything mapped out."
She patted his cheek. "That's why we're doing this, some unorganized fun. I love you, but you have to loosen up a little. Not everything has to be scheduled. You'll see." She gave him a wink as she pulled out of the parking garage. "Here we go," she let her hair down and let it blow in the breeze. "You'll thank me for this."
He gave a nervous smile. "I hope so."
****
Rashid was looking all over the house for Quatre, but to no avail. He couldn't seem to locate the lad. He was really getting worried. He was afraid someone could have kidnapped him. He was searching again when he found a note he hadn't noticed before. It was addressed to him.
Dear Rashid,
Dorothy and I have gone out on business.(She forced me to go) We'll be back soon. (I hope)
Love, Quatre
Rashid chuckled slightly as he read the note. "Well I guess he has been kidnapped, by his girlfriend. I wish he would have told me though." Suddenly, Rashid got very worried. "Oh no, Master Quatre has no one to be his bodyguard. I have to go find them." He rushed out the door to go after the two lovebirds.
****
"Um, Dorothy? Where exactly are we headed?"
"Well first of all we're going to a movie."
"But, I didn't rent out the theater."
She sighed, while still focusing on the road. "That's the point. We're going to the movies like average people. We're buying tickets, getting popcorn and candy, and sharing the theater with the public."
He gave her a strange look. "What's the point of doing that? What's fun about that?"
"Well, Quatre," she smiled, "I think since you've been rich your whole life, you don't realize what normal people have to do. I was one of them myself once, sort of, I guess. Either way, today you aren't Quatre Rababa Winner, head of the Winner Corp., and I'm not Dorothy Catalonia, leader of the Romefellar Foundation. Today we are just two young people having fun."
He was still skeptical, but he figured he might as well agree. The idea seemed almost intriguing. "Alright, this idea seems harmless enough. What movie are we seeing?"
"We'll decide when we get there."
"Uh, alright."
"Oh good, we're here." Dorothy swiftly turned the corner into the movie parking lot. Then, she took great care in parking Quatre's car in the back of the parking lot. "This way nobody will scratch it." They walked across the parking lot until they finally reached the theater. When they got to the ticket counter, they looked at the choices available.
"Oh look! Austin Powers in Goldmember is in the theaters because of the anniversary of it. Let's see that, it's hysterical."
"Ok, but I've never seen it."
She gawked at him. "You've never seen Austin Powers?"
"No, I guess I was always busy doing something."
"Well," she hooked her arm in his, "Since we both need a good laugh, we'll see it."
"Sure, oh wait a minute." He stopped her as she was reaching for her wallet. "Rich or normal people, I know the guy is supposed to treat for a girl he loves." He took out his wallet and told the cashier "Two for Austin Powers."
Dorothy smiled. "Now you're catching on."
****
Rashid was driving around; thinking of any possible place Dorothy might have taken Quatre.
"Where could they possibly have gone? All right Rashid, think. Where would a spontaneous girl go?" He furrowed his brow and tried to think and drive at the same time. "It's too early for a bar, but I better find them before it isn't too early for a bar. They're both cultured people, I'll try the art museum." He pulled his car around and headed straight for the museum, desperately hoping he would find them.
****
Quatre came out of the movie still laughing as hard as Dorothy was. They didn't care that people were staring at them, they just kept laughing.
"I-haven't-laughed-that-hard-in-ages," he panted.
"I know, I told you it was funny. You did need that, didn't you? Come on, be honest."
"Ok, ok. You were right. I did need that. So, where to now, since you're calling the shots."
"Well," she put a finger to her chin for a second, and then she put it up in the air. "I know, we're going to get something to eat."
"Fine by me, I am getting hungry. What fine restaurant are we going to?"
She cocked a look at him. "Fine restaurant? Oh no no no, we're going to a little burger place."
His eyes widened. "A little burger place? Did I hear you right? But we can have the cook make us them anytime."
She sighed. "I know that. But we're going to this place to soak up the atmosphere. I've been there a couple of times, and it's really good. Come on, let's go."
She was again dragging him out to the car. As they got in, buckled their seatbelts and she turned the key, Quatre wanted to tell her something. "Um, Dorothy?"
"Yeah?"
He leaned over in his seat and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
"For what, specifically?"
"For today. I'm excited. I can't remember when I had this much fun! For once I feel relaxed."
She had on an 'I-told-you-so' smile. "Your welcome. Now let's go. I have more plans for us."
She drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. Someone, while changing lanes, almost ran into them. Dorothy blasted her horn and yelled.
"What the hell, you nearly went into me!"
"Don't scream at me bitch, you were the one to.Quatre? Is that you in there?"
Quatre turned his head to see Hilde and Duo in the car that they nearly collided with. They both pulled over and got out of their cars to talk to each other. Hilde elbowed Duo.
"Oh right. Yeah. Sorry about the bitch remark, Dorothy. No offense intended."
She put up her hand. "None taken. Don't worry about it."
"So Quatre," Hilde spoke up, eyeing the car, "is the limo in the shop or the chauffer sick?"
"Oh, uh," He put his hand behind his head, "Well no, Dorothy just insisted that she drive that specific car today, and that we go out to have fun instead of work."
Duo was chuckling. "So, the Q-man is taking a day off? Mr. workaholic? Now I'm impressed. "He patted Quatre on the back so hard that Quatre nearly fell over. "Well I'm proud of you Quatre. I mean, I never thought you'd be one to ditch responsibilities. I see we've done a good job in starting to corrupt you. Nice work, Dorothy."
She nodded in agreement. "Thank you Duo."
"So, where are you guys headed?" Hilde asked.
"Actually, we're going to this burger place to get something to eat. If you like, we'd love to have you join us."
Hilde looked to Duo. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm starved, and a burger sounds great to me." She looked back to Dorothy. "Sure, we'll go. We'll just follow your car there."
"Hey, I didn't get a say in the decision," Duo whined.
Hilde looked back at him. "Oh, excuse me," she said sarcastically, "You have an objection?"
"Well, no, of course not. I don't refuse food. But, um,"
"Well good then. Let's go. I think I'll drive this time, and Dorothy, I'll follow you there."
"Great. We'll go now then."
The two couples went off to their cars, with Duo mumbling something about 'damn feminism'. As Dorothy turned the key again, Quatre asked her something.
"Dorothy?"
"Yes?"
"Where exactly is this burger place?"
She smiled. "Oh you'll see."
****
As Rashid entered the art museum, he instantly scanned the immediate surrounds for at least pairs of blonde people. He spotted one! He instantly ran up to them.
"Excuse me," he tapped them on the shoulders. Two different very stunned people turned around to see him.
"Can I help you," the confused man asked.
"Oh sorry, my mistake. I thought you were someone else." Embarrassed, he moved on and decided to make his way through the front desk. "Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes?" the attendant at the desk gave him a funny look.
"I'm looking for two people who could possibly be here. Could you make an announcement on your loudspeaker?"
"Sir, I'm sorry but we can't do that."
Rashid was getting hot under the collar. "One of the people I'm looking for is Quatre Rababa Winner, head of the Winner Corp., which is a very big contributor to this museum. Now, make that announcement. I'm looking for Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia."
"Oh, I know they are. The two of them have come here before. But, sorry sir, they haven't come in today."
"Could you make that announcement anyway, just to make sure?"
"Certainly sir."
The attendant tapped the microphone and spoke over the loudspeaker."
"Attention. If Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia are in the building, will they please report to the front desk immediately."
The two men waited there for about 15 minutes. The attendant spoke up. "Well sir, like I told you they aren't here."
"I see, thank you." Rashid turned on his heel and left, desperately thinking where he should look next. "Where could they be? I wish Quatre had at least taken his cell phone; he left it in the house with his pager. Where could they be, where could they be?" As he was making his way back to his car, he had a thought. "The movies, they might have gone there." He got back in his car and started towards the closest movie theater.
****
"Man, Dorothy. When you said this was a little burger place you sure weren't kidding about the little part," Hilde said looking around to the very small place. It was a very tiny, and very old fashioned looking little restaurant. There were small little booths in some of the surrounding walls, one table, and bar stools around the front and side of the ordering counter. Behind the counter, there was a very old fashioned grill. Dorothy led them all over to the 4 stools on the side of the counter. Then she got up and prepared to order.
"Now, how do all of you like your burgers?"
"Well done," Quatre replied.
"I'll take mine medium," Hilde said.
"Well, everybody knows I go for it rare," Duo said enthusiastically.
Dorothy confirmed the order with the cashier and ordered hers be medium rare. "What do you people want to drink?"
"Peach Snapple Iced Tea." Quatre confirmed.
"We'll take birch beer," Duo said. Dorothy gave them all their drinks and sat back down.
"Now it's going to take awhile till they're all ready, it always takes awhile here. We might as well find something to talk about. Anybody have any ideas?"
"Well," Hilde looked a little uneasy, "I heard about you having surgery, but I don't know what the whole deal was. I know this is a delicate subject, so if you don't want to discuss it, that's fine."
"Oh not at all Hilde. I'd be happy to tell you. Well I actually had to get a heat transplant because I have Chagus disease. And I actually almost died of a seizure during the operation." Quatre squeezed her hand tighter. "But, I didn't die, and here I am. It takes more than that to bring Dorothy Catalonia down."
"Yes, and that was immediately after I nearly died of a drug interaction." Duo and Hilde had shocked looks. "Oh no, I don't use drugs. But my ex girlfriend drugged me in an attempt to kill me, but my angle saved me. And here we are. Living life to the fullest!"
"Well that's an inspirational story if I ever heard one." Duo lifted his drink as Hilde did. "I propose a toast to you guys, living past death and leading a helluva life!"
"Here Here!" They banged drinks and each took a big gulp from them. Then Dorothy heard the cashier/griller call her name. "Oh Duo, yours must be ready now." She stood up, got the burger and gave it to Duo. Duo looked at it a little funny.
"Huh? Uh, Dorothy, where's the bun? It's only on toasted bread. And where's the ketchup?"
"Shhhh, Duo, don't say ketchup. They don't allow ketchup here. It spoils the tasted of the meat. And this is how burgers were originally made, so you can't spoil them, or everybody will get really off you."
Duo's mouth dropped open "No ketchup? What the hell is this place?"
Hilde put a hand over his mouth. "Duo, shut up. You're attracting many unwelcome stares."
"Duo," Dorothy pointed up over the counter, "read that sign."
"Ok, fine." He squinted. " 'This isn't Burger King. You don't get it your way, you take it my way or you don't get the damn thing.' "
She motioned her hand. "See? Now stop whining and just try the thing. I guarantee you'll like it. Here Hilde, yours is ready." She slid her burger down to her as Duo took a bite. His eyes bulged out.
"Oh my god, this is so good!!"
"You're right, Duo. This IS good."
Dorothy smiled. "I told you, didn't I?" She picked up hers and Quatre's burgers and they all ate. After they finished, they all went to the door and exited.
"Well thanks for inviting us to come Dorothy. That certainly was worth it."
"Yeah, Duo's right. That was excellent. Thank you."
"Your welcome."
"Well," Duo looked at his watch and showed Hilde, "I think, Hilde that we should get to the junkyard before it closes. We'll see you guys later, bye!"
"Bye bye!"
Duo and Hilde got in their car and drove away. Dorothy opened the car and they both got in. Quatre turned the radio on and asked her a question.
"So, now where to?"
She smiled mischievously. "That's a surprise. You'll see when we get there."
****
Rashid left the movies, very disappointed. He showed their pictures to the cashier and they had been there and left. He was trying to think where to go now. "I'll try the amusement park. But, my goodness it's so big, how will I ever look through the whole thing? And what if they aren't there? Oh well I have to try something." He got back in his car and drove to the amusement park. When he got to the gates, he looked up at the huge roller coasters. "Oh my goodness, I really hope Quatre doesn't go on any of those. It gives me gray hair just thinking about it. Oh well, I better start looking."
****
"The amusement park? W-what are we going to do here?" Quatre asked nervously.
"What do you think we're going to do, we're going to play games, eat junk food and hang out."
"Oh good." He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh yeah, and we're gonna ride all the rides, especially the roller coasters."
"Oh no." Quatre looked very scared. "Um, Dorothy, don't you know that I'm positively terrified of rides, especially roller coasters?"
"Come on, you're a Gundam pilot. You've piloted mobile suits, and you're afraid of roller coasters?"
"Well," He looked very embarrassed, "Well I've just always feared that they weren't safe. I guess it's a childhood fear."
"Well then," she slipped her arm into his, "I'm going to help you conquer that fear today. Because we're going on those rides, and I'll hold your hand every second."
"Thank you, but.I'd really prefer to just not go on the rides."
"Ok, let me make a deal with you. If you go on all the rides I want you to, then you can pick the next place we go after this. Or, if you go on one roller coaster with me, you don't have to go on any more, but I get to pick the next place we go." She stuck out her hand. "Is it a deal?"
He put out his hand to meet hers and smiled. "Deal. You always did have a good business and negotiation mind."
She looked flattered. "Well, I don't like to brag, but yes you're right, I do, don't I?"
The two of them wandered around for awhile Dorothy spotted the largest roller coaster in the park and two of them wandered around for awhile Dorothy spotted the largest roller coaster in the park and pointed it out to Quatre. "We're going on that one. Now remember our deal, you only have to go on this one. If you like it and go on more with me, you choose the next destination. But you have to at least go on one, and we're going on that one. Is that fair enough?"
"Sure, that's fair." While his stomach was doing flip-flops, he tried very hard not to show it. "That's, uh, alright with me"
"Good," she had an earnest smile on, "Let's go then."
"Let's get this over with," he mumbled to himself.
****
Rashid had to stop and take a rest from walking around so much. He had hired a park attendant to search for Quatre and Dorothy while he got some rest and ate some cotton candy, though his mind was never off Quatre for a moment. At the moment, he was quite worried. He tried to think otherwise, but he couldn't help blaming Dorothy for this whole mess. He hadn't exactly ever forgiven her for stabbing Quatre that time on Libra. And since he was upset now, he wasn't thinking straight.
"This is her fault, I know it is. He would have never gone off without telling me if it hadn't been for her," he mumbled quietly to himself
'It's not entirely her fault; you know that. He didn't have to go along with her. They were in it together,' his mind told him.
"But he's not very dominant when it comes to her, she knows that, and she took advantage of him."
'That's not true. The two of them are in love, it's natural for them to want to go off alone.'
"All I know is that he loves her. I'm not entirely sure about her intentions. What if she's using him like Sera did?"
'She's not Sera. She saved him from Sera. She hates Sera, and would never want to be like her.'
"I don't know about her, I just don't know."
He turned his attention back to the park and looked around for the attendant he hired. "For her sake, I hope he finds them. Because if something happens to him.then I'm holding her responsible."
****
"Quatre? Are you ok?" Dorothy shook his hand, which was holding hers as they neared the front of the line. Quatre was still very nervous as they were getting closer to the ride. Since it had been a semi long wait, they had seen the ride go around many times.
"I'm ok. Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
"Well, alright. But you'll love this; trust me. It'll blow you away."
"Well I trust you. But only because I love you."
She put her head on his shoulder. "Aw, thank you. I love you too."
Finally, it was their turn to get on. "Ok, this is it." She put her purse in the bin and sat in the seat next to him. The buckled their seatbelts and she took his hand. "Alright, here we go." The car slowly started to move up the first hill. Quatre's grip on her hand tightened.
"It's ok, I'm here."
The car kept going up, and up, and up, and up. It seemed like it would never reach the top. Quatre looked out, and at this point he could see the entire park. He squeezed her hand a little tighter. Then, the reached the top. And for about two seconds, they were looking down at the first drop. In those two seconds, Quatre could have sworn his heart stopped. He was even more terrified seeing the hill they were about to plummet down. Then, the car made the first drop. It sped down the hill so fast that Quatre's hair was violently thrust back. Everyone in the car was screaming as they turned upside down, loop the loop and up and down hills. The ride lasted for about 20 exhilarating seconds. When the car stopped and rolled back into the garage, Dorothy looked over at Quatre, who looked like he was frozen. She shook his hand.
"Quatre? Quatre?"
His frozen look changed into a look of pure adrenaline. He let out a loud "Whoohooo!!"
"So, what did you think?"
He never looked so excited. "Oh my god, I loved that! I loved it, I loved it, I loved it! Come on, let's go on more!!"
He was now dragging her around to find another ride. She was laughing. "You see? I told you so."
"Come on, we're going on that one now!" He pointed to the other roller coaster.
"Ok, ok." She giggled. "I guess you will pick the next place we go."
****
"Sir! Sir!"
Rashid looked up to see the attendant he hired to look for Quatre. "Yes, what is it? Did you find them?"
"No sir, I didn't find them myself. But I showed their pictures to many people and they said that they did see them in here recently."
He smiled. "Good, at least we're getting somewhere. They are here. Now all we have to do is find them." He gave the man a 20-dollar bill. "Keep that, and I'm going to hire 3 more people to look, and we should track them down." He found 3 more attendants and started looking around himself. He walked around showing pictures and asking people if they had seen them. Everyone replied that yes they had seen them, but they didn't know where they went. "Do I need to look on the rides? Naw, Master Quatre is terrified of those. Then again, perhaps she forced him to go. I'll check either way." He started walking toward the nearest roller coaster.
****
About 4 hours and 7 rides later, Quatre was starting to wear Dorothy out. "Quatre, ok, you win the bet. You choose where we go next. Now can we sit down for a second?"
"Aw, just one more ride?" He pleaded. She laughed at the irony. This was definitely a switch. He sounded like her begging. "Alright," she agreed. "One more ride. Then we can go somewhere you chose, alright?" She patted the bench spot next to her. "But first we take a breather."
He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "You know what?"
"No, what?"
"I think this is the most fun I've ever had in a single day." He kissed her forehead. "Thank you."
She put her head on his shoulder. "Don't mention it, I was glad to do it."
He leaned over and kissed her beautiful lips. "Have I told you that I love you yet today?"
She smiled. "Hmmm, I don't remember. Why don't you tell me again?"
"I love you. I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you."
She stroked his hair. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Then maybe I should put them back in."
"Oh please do."
They leaned in and kissed each other yet again. It was a soft, gentle and loving kiss. They stopped when they heard something that concerned them. It was coming from behind their bench. It sounded somewhat far away.
"Excuse me sir, have you seen these two people?"
Quatre instantly recognized the voice. "That's Rashid," he whispered to her. "What's he doing here?"
"You got me," she whispered back. She pulled him off the bench and they hid behind a tree. "We can't let him see us. He'll make us cut our day short. Looks like we have to go now." She saw him pouting. She lifted his chin with her hand and looked into his blue green eyes. "Don't worry, we can come back when we sneak off again."
"Ok, you're right. But we have to get around him." They started to go off in the opposite direction, but Dorothy pulled him behind the pole again abruptly. "No, wait. Look at that attendant. He has our pictures."
"Rashid must have hired him to look for us too." He put his back to the pole. Then, he had an idea. "There's a store right there. Let's buy some big tee shirts, hats and sunglasses so we can get to the car."
"Good idea. Here's an opening, let's go." The snuck between people in the crowd and made their way unseen into the nearest store. Dorothy saw a big tie-dye shirt and asked, "Can I get that one?"
"Well you can get it for later, but you can't wear that now. It'll attract too much attention," He pointed out. She nodded. Then she picked up the shirt. "I still want it." Then she saw a dark purple shirt with kitties on it. "This should be good."
"Yeah, that's good, it'll blend in. I'll take this one," he picked up a navy blue t-shirt. Then, they each picked out a white and blue baseball cap and two pairs of sunglasses. Then Dorothy picked out two key chains and they paid for everything. They again slipped through the crowd and got behind the tree. They slipped on the big shirts and put their sunglasses on. Dorothy put all of her hair in the hat and Quatre did the same. They nodded to each other, and strolled out in the direction of the exit. They couldn't avoid the glance of one of the attendants. He stopped them and asked.
"Excuse me, but have you seen these two people?"
Dorothy, thinking fast, put on a New York accent. "What's he taukin about? I dunno dis here people. How bout you, shuga?" She showed the pictures to Quatre.
"Nope."
"Well sorry sweetie, we dunno where des two baurbie dolls are. Sorry to dissappoint ya." She gave the pictures back to the attendant and they walked away. Quatre was snickering a little.
"I didn't know you could put on a New York accent."
She shrugged. "I thought fast and I did it. Plus somebody on my soap opera has a jersey accent, so I sorta used that."
Arms in arm, they both made it to the parking lot. They were both laughing.
"That was a cheap accent I used, but I guess it worked." They made their way to the car, and took off the big t-shirts and the hats, but Dorothy kept her sunglasses on. She turned to him and lowered her sunglasses seductively.
"So Quatre, you won the bet, where to now? I'll even let you drive." She moved into the passenger seat and he got into the driver seat.
"Well, Dorothy," he flicked his hair back a little, "after all those rides, I feel like calming down. How about we go to a bar?"
Her eyes widened a little and a pleased look came over her face. "Well I never thought you'd suggest that, but sure, let's go. Good thing the drinking age is down to 20."
****
"You let them get away! How could you be so stupid?" Rashid was screaming at the attendant that just realized the New York speaking couple was who he was looking for.
"I'm sorry sir. They were wearing big t-shirts, hats and sunglasses. Plus the girl had a New York accent, so I figured-,"
"You figured that couldn't be them? You should have looked closer! Well you don't get paid." Rashid was now sprinting off to the exit. He was pushing past people and even knocked an old lady down, which he quickly apologized for and helped her up. He got to the parking lot, and off in the distance saw a red 67 corvette driving off with two blonde people in it. He sprinted to his car and started to follow them. He followed them on the highway, off an exit ramp, but then he lost them. He got caught and traffic and the car went too far away to see.
"Damn it! I was so close. Well I am going to find them. I will find them."
****
"Well, here we are."
Quatre parked in a space and the both got out of the car. Dorothy stopped him for a second. "Ok, we have to decide. Who gets to drink and who is the designated driver?"
"Whatever you want, it really doesn't matter to me."
"Ok then, you drive and I'll have maybe some white wine, but not too much. Unless you want to drink, in that case I'll be perfectly happy with club soda. I just had some wine yesterday, so if you want to drink, then I'll drive."
"Well, alright. I could go for some white wine. Just make sure I don't get too drunk."
"Fair deal." They shook on it and entered the bar. There wasn't much going on, just some people playing pool. They took two barstools. They both decided to get club soda. They started to relax.
"This is good, isn't it? We can just hang out and not worry about anything at the moment."
"Yeah. This is the most time I've ever had to relax." He poked the ice in his drink and stared down at it. "Do you think we could talk about something?"
She sipped some of her soda. "Sure. Anything."
"Ok. Well, this is something I've been thinking about." He was slightly pink. "I'm very embarrassed about it, but, uh, um."
"Oh just say it," she prompted him.
"Ok. Well, later tonight, if you'd like," he grinned, showing his shining white teeth, "maybe we use that chained collar and whip you bought."
She spat her drink all over the bar and looked very shocked, and at the same time slightly embarrassed. "How did you know about that?"
"Well, I was looking for something and I happened to find it." He ran a finger down her face. "I'd be happy to use it tonight if you want."
"Ooooo," she cocked and eyebrow, "I like the sound of that." She picked up his soda and sniffed it. "Are you sure that's just club soda? Is it spiked with anything?"
He mocked an offended face. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I just never thought I'd hear that attitude from you."
"Well, now you have. And I think I'd like to use the collar and whip on you first." He teased her
"Weeeeeelll," she snickered, "I know I like the sound of that. If you don't have to work when we get home that is."
He brushed his hand. "Oh to hell with work."
She almost mocked choked on her drink this time. "Oh my god, you swear now too?"
"Well, you're the best bad influence on me ever." He raised his glass and met her eyes. "To you."
She raised her glass in agreement. "I'll drink to that."
They both sipped their club soda. "You sure you didn't want anything to drink like beer or anything?"
"Nah, I don't need it."
They both drank their drinks. "I have to go the bathroom. I'll be right back."
"Ok sure." Dorothy watched as he went to the back. Then she got more club soda. Then, she heard somebody breathing very grossly behind her. She turned around on her stool and couldn't help make a face at the disgusting big man behind her. He was at least 6 foot, and was very fat and sweaty.
"May I help you?" she asked annoyed, cocking her eyebrow.
"Hey baby," he sat down in Quatre's chair and licked his lips. "What's a pretty little thing like you doin all by yourself in a place like this?"
She couldn't help but look totally repulsed and made a gagging sound. "I'm here with my boyfriend, who's in the bathroom, and that's his chair you're in, so kindly," she gestured her hand, "please move."
"Well I don't think I want to. You're such a sexy looking lady."
"Ewww, go away you disgusting pig!"
"Ohh, that turns me on baby. How about you ditch your boyfriend and spend the night with a real man?" He tried to put his arm around her, but she thrust it away violently.
"Listen scumbag, I said no. Now leave me alone."
"Oh I don't think so. I get what I want, and what I want is you." He pushed her down flat on the bar and got on top of her. She struggled to break free but he was so big. He was trying to pull off her shirt so she used her last resort and kicked him in the groin. Even that still didn't faze him. His hands were moving in places she didn't want him to touch making her scream in fury. Suddenly he broke his hold on her and slipped backwards. She then saw Quatre had hit him with the barstool. "Alright Quatre!" She spotted the rapier on the wall and attempted to pull it off. Quatre meanwhile looked deadly, like he would explode.
"And if you EVER touch my girlfriend again, I personally promise to kill you!!"
Dorothy succeeded in pulling the rapier off the wall and stuck it to his throat. "That's right, touch me again, loser man, and," she moved it down to his groin, "well you won't be a man anymore. Is that clear?"
The frightened pervert nodded and went away to his own business. Quatre looked her over for about a second, then pulled her into a tight embrace. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"
"No, he didn't, I'm fine. But you came just in time." She held him equally tight. "I even pulled a groin kicker, but I guess he had balls of steel."
"Let's leave now. I don't anybody else to bother you." She nodded and they headed for the door. But they ducked behind a pool table when they saw Rashid enter. "Damn it. How did he find us here?"
She sighed and rubbed her shoulder. "Look, why don't we let him find us? We're going home anyway, right?"
He nodded, but watched her rub her shoulder. "Is something wrong with your shoulder?"
"No no, it's just a little sore. I think I pulled I muscle pulling that rapier off the wall. It was pretty stuck on there."
"Ok," though he wasn't sure that was it, they stood up and let themselves be seen. "Hello, Rashid."
"Master Quatre!!" He ran up to him and gave him a hug, then pulled away. "Oh Master Quatre I've been so worried. I've been trying to find you all day."
"We know, we uh, saw you at the amusement park." Dorothy said.
He looked at her with less enthusiasm. "Yes, and as I heard you disguised yourself to not be noticed so you could sneak away, to this place. I suppose you picked this place, Miss Dorothy?"
"Actually I did, Rashid." Quatre put in.
"Oh, er, my mistake. I apologize."
"That's ok," Dorothy said, but was slightly suspicious of the way Rashid looked at her. Was he angry with her? She didn't know, and at the moment she didn't' care.
"I suppose you people have been drinking."
"No actually, we just had club soda."
"Oh, alright. Master Quatre, may I drive you home? It would take a great worry off my mind. Dorothy could drive the other car, couldn't you?"
"Uh, alright, sure." She said a little confused.
"But Rashid, I want to go with-,"
"It's ok, Quatre." She was now looking at Rashid. She understood that he was upset with her. "You go with Rashid. I'll follow you guys home. He probably has business to discuss with you, right?"
"Yes, that's precisely it."
"But Dorothy."
"Look," she took his hand, "Go with him now, discuss business and we can have more time to ourselves at home. Ok?"
"Well, ok. But follow us close so I don't get worried about you, alright?" He stroked her hair.
"Sure."
The three of them headed out. Dorothy gave Quatre a hug and a kiss and waved goodbye as she got in the corvette and he got in the limo. She understood things now. Rashid was upset with her for taking him out today, but he didn't want to hurt Quatre so he didn't say anything. "Oh well, here goes nothing," she said as she turned the key and started to follow them home.
Author's Note: I don't the corvette, it belongs to it's respective owners. I also don't own the movie Austin Powers: Goldmember. I just loved that movie so much I had to put it in. It belongs to Mike Meyers and probably other people. The burger place they go to for lunch is actually based on a place called Louis Lunch in New Haven. They really do make burgers in the original old-fashioned way as they first made them, and it's true they don't allow ketchup. And when Dorothy uses her New York accent because someone on her soap opera had a jersey one, I used that because the soap opera I watch, As the World Turns, has the character Rose, who has a jersey accent, so I based it on that.(Rose is one of my fav characters by the way, and Rose and Paul are my fav couple :-) I'd like to give credit to the creators and owners of all the references I used and to thank them. In other notes, what do you think? Please review!
Author's Note: Heh heh, I'm back for more. Chapter 6 did seem like it could be an ending, but of course knowing me I just couldn't end it there. This chapter I think is a bit of a tension release chapter, at least for little old me, the author. Warning, I sorta made it a bit long. Please R&R! Also, my eternal gratitude goes out to all the people who reviewed this story so far. Thank you all, I love you! I really really appreciate it. Again, this is for you, Quintia.
Love will not Die
Part VII
By, Silver Fox
For the time being, things had returned as close to normal as possible for the lives of Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia. Though Dorothy nearly died of a seizure while having her heart transplant, she was alive and in good health. Quatre had survived a deadly drug interaction, and now was perfectly healthy again. The two of them were back at Quatre's mansion, and for the first time, they could enjoy just being with each other. One morning, Dorothy woke up and went in the bathroom. She closed the door behind her. She sighed heavily as she turned the lights on. She reached for the medicine chest, and took out her medicine cream. She looked at her reflection.
"It's funny, but for the first time in my life I'm not ashamed to look at my reflection. I don't hate myself anymore."
She unscrewed the cap of her scar minimizing cream, squirted some in her hand, and pulled her shirt down a little so she could see her scar. Much as she hated to admit it, the look of it bothered her a little. She wasn't comfortable with wearing scoop necklines anymore, because the scar was in plain site when she wore them. She shook her head and smiled a weak smile.
"This scar shouldn't bother me so much. It only proves that I lived through my surgery. If I hadn't have had it, I know I would have died." She stood up straight and tall. "In fact, I'm proud of it. It shows my bravery. It shows that I'm me. Though, I still don't think I'll wear any scoop necks just yet." She started to rub the cream on very gently, when she heard and noise and dropped the bottle.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, your worshiper, can I come in, or are you not descent?"
She chuckled and opened the door. "Even if I wasn't descent, I'm sure you wouldn't mind."
"Um, uh." He blushed and his face turned beet red. She laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "So," he was slowly regaining normal color in his face, "what are you doing in here?"
"I'm putting on my face."
"Oh, I didn't realize it came out of a bottle." He moved behind her and put his arms around her kissing her neck as she was facing the mirror. "I always thought the goddess look came natural to you."
"I'm just kidding you. I'm actually using my scar cream."
"Oh." He rubbed her arms. "Does that still bother you?" he asked gently.
She shook her head. "No, it really doesn't anymore." She gazed at the reflection of her with her beloved. "I think I've accepted it now. It's sort of like a symbol of pride, showing I was brave enough to survive. So in a way, I'm proud of it."
Gratitude showed on his face. "I'm glad. I'm glad I have you. I'm so lucky."
"Yes, you are lucky, just like me."
"Well, I'll let you take your shower now." He turned to go out the door, but she grabbed his arm.
"Why don't we take ours together, to save water?" she was grinning wickedly.
He was blushing again. "Um, sure, ok, to save water. Yeah, that'd be good." He smiled weakly as she pulled him into the shower with her.
****
"Winner Residence, may I help you?"
Rashid had picked up the phone, as it was his job to. The tall man slicked his brown hair back with his hand. The person on the other end was a man, and was asking for Quatre.
"Please hold." Rashid put the phone down and walked down the hall to Quatre's bedroom. Upon seeing that he wasn't there, he walked straight to the bathroom. He was about to knock on the door, and was puzzled to hear the shower going and two giggling voices. He put two and two together and instantly blushed. He made his way back to the phone.
"I'm sorry, he's unavailable right now. May I take a message?"
Rashid scribbled down a note that said call the person back. "Thank you, I'll deliver this right away." He hung up the phone and felt a little uneasy. "Well, I'll deliver this to Quatre as he's.uh, done." He walked off to tend to the calling of the cook.
**** Quatre and Dorothy walked arm in arm out of his bedroom after they got dressed. Quatre was still blushing a little bit, but Dorothy rubbed his shoulder.
"Don't worry, you were wonderful."
"Oh good, I was worried about that."
She put her head on his shoulder. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, I was thinking that I should check with Rashid to see if there's anything I need to do. I do have to handle that big case and-,"
"I have a better idea," she cut him off. "How about the two of us go off and have fun and forget about work?"
"Well," Quatre tried to decide, "I don't know. I mean I do have a lot of work to do. And I don't know if this case can afford to wait." He looked at her giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes.
"Please Quatre? Just for today, and I promise you can go back to work tomorrow. Pretty please?"
Quatre squirmed a little. He would say no, but her look just melted him. "Oh, ok, ok. Jeez, you can make me do just about anything."
She smiled. "Well that's good to know. Let's leave now. I'll drive."
"Now? But, I should tell Rashid we're going, and I do have a chauffer."
"No, let's just take off, it's more spontaneous that way. And as for the chauffer, screw that! I wanna drive today." She saw his worried face and sighed. "Just write him a note, saying we'll be back soon."
"Ok, I'll do that." Quatre picked up the pen and paper, and neatly wrote out a note.
"Ok, I did it."
"Good, now let's get out of here before anyone stops us." She took Quatre's hand and dragged him out the door. She looked back at his somewhat nervous face. "Don't worry, this'll be fun, and you need a break, you work too much."
"I work less with you around..." he mumbled to himself as his lively blonde angel dragged him out to his car garage. She stopped for a moment to choose a car.
"Hmm, now which one do I want? Not the limo, not the minivan.I know! I want the corvette!"
Quatre was a little hesitant upon hearing her answer. "Um, I don't know about that. I mean, that's a 67 vette, in mint condition. It's never even been driven before!"
"Does it have a full tank of gas?"
"Well, yes."
"Then give me the keys, that's the one we're taking."
"Um, Dorothy, please, just consider taking another one. It's in mint condition!"
"I'm not leaving this garage unless it's in that car. Come on, are you ever going to sell it or anything?"
"Of course not, but it's in mint condition!"
"Well what good is a car unless you can drive it, at least once."
He sighed, trying to talk her down from this. "Dorothy, my sweet, my angel, I love you, you know that. But I'm begging you, not that car!"
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Look, if you let me drive that car, I promise I'll be really, really careful. It'll come back looking just like it did, I promise. Now, will you please just let me take that car, because there's no way you're going to talk me out of it."
He desperately tried to think of some kind of retort, but he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't win this one, so he reluctantly handed her the keys. She took them joyfully and sprinted to the car. He followed slowly, looking defeated.
"Oh come on," she said as he got in and closed the door, "You need this day out as much as I do, and having a cool car only makes it better." He still had a defeated face on. "Hey, I bet you after today you'll have a different expression on your face, and it'll be a happy one."
He smiled. "Ok, I trust you. So, will you at least tell me what our plan for the day is?"
She got a big smile. "That's the whole fun part, there is no plan! We're gonna make up as we go along."
He got a little scared. "We don't even know where we're going? But, every time I go on a trip I always have everything mapped out."
She patted his cheek. "That's why we're doing this, some unorganized fun. I love you, but you have to loosen up a little. Not everything has to be scheduled. You'll see." She gave him a wink as she pulled out of the parking garage. "Here we go," she let her hair down and let it blow in the breeze. "You'll thank me for this."
He gave a nervous smile. "I hope so."
****
Rashid was looking all over the house for Quatre, but to no avail. He couldn't seem to locate the lad. He was really getting worried. He was afraid someone could have kidnapped him. He was searching again when he found a note he hadn't noticed before. It was addressed to him.
Dear Rashid,
Dorothy and I have gone out on business.(She forced me to go) We'll be back soon. (I hope)
Love, Quatre
Rashid chuckled slightly as he read the note. "Well I guess he has been kidnapped, by his girlfriend. I wish he would have told me though." Suddenly, Rashid got very worried. "Oh no, Master Quatre has no one to be his bodyguard. I have to go find them." He rushed out the door to go after the two lovebirds.
****
"Um, Dorothy? Where exactly are we headed?"
"Well first of all we're going to a movie."
"But, I didn't rent out the theater."
She sighed, while still focusing on the road. "That's the point. We're going to the movies like average people. We're buying tickets, getting popcorn and candy, and sharing the theater with the public."
He gave her a strange look. "What's the point of doing that? What's fun about that?"
"Well, Quatre," she smiled, "I think since you've been rich your whole life, you don't realize what normal people have to do. I was one of them myself once, sort of, I guess. Either way, today you aren't Quatre Rababa Winner, head of the Winner Corp., and I'm not Dorothy Catalonia, leader of the Romefellar Foundation. Today we are just two young people having fun."
He was still skeptical, but he figured he might as well agree. The idea seemed almost intriguing. "Alright, this idea seems harmless enough. What movie are we seeing?"
"We'll decide when we get there."
"Uh, alright."
"Oh good, we're here." Dorothy swiftly turned the corner into the movie parking lot. Then, she took great care in parking Quatre's car in the back of the parking lot. "This way nobody will scratch it." They walked across the parking lot until they finally reached the theater. When they got to the ticket counter, they looked at the choices available.
"Oh look! Austin Powers in Goldmember is in the theaters because of the anniversary of it. Let's see that, it's hysterical."
"Ok, but I've never seen it."
She gawked at him. "You've never seen Austin Powers?"
"No, I guess I was always busy doing something."
"Well," she hooked her arm in his, "Since we both need a good laugh, we'll see it."
"Sure, oh wait a minute." He stopped her as she was reaching for her wallet. "Rich or normal people, I know the guy is supposed to treat for a girl he loves." He took out his wallet and told the cashier "Two for Austin Powers."
Dorothy smiled. "Now you're catching on."
****
Rashid was driving around; thinking of any possible place Dorothy might have taken Quatre.
"Where could they possibly have gone? All right Rashid, think. Where would a spontaneous girl go?" He furrowed his brow and tried to think and drive at the same time. "It's too early for a bar, but I better find them before it isn't too early for a bar. They're both cultured people, I'll try the art museum." He pulled his car around and headed straight for the museum, desperately hoping he would find them.
****
Quatre came out of the movie still laughing as hard as Dorothy was. They didn't care that people were staring at them, they just kept laughing.
"I-haven't-laughed-that-hard-in-ages," he panted.
"I know, I told you it was funny. You did need that, didn't you? Come on, be honest."
"Ok, ok. You were right. I did need that. So, where to now, since you're calling the shots."
"Well," she put a finger to her chin for a second, and then she put it up in the air. "I know, we're going to get something to eat."
"Fine by me, I am getting hungry. What fine restaurant are we going to?"
She cocked a look at him. "Fine restaurant? Oh no no no, we're going to a little burger place."
His eyes widened. "A little burger place? Did I hear you right? But we can have the cook make us them anytime."
She sighed. "I know that. But we're going to this place to soak up the atmosphere. I've been there a couple of times, and it's really good. Come on, let's go."
She was again dragging him out to the car. As they got in, buckled their seatbelts and she turned the key, Quatre wanted to tell her something. "Um, Dorothy?"
"Yeah?"
He leaned over in his seat and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
"For what, specifically?"
"For today. I'm excited. I can't remember when I had this much fun! For once I feel relaxed."
She had on an 'I-told-you-so' smile. "Your welcome. Now let's go. I have more plans for us."
She drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. Someone, while changing lanes, almost ran into them. Dorothy blasted her horn and yelled.
"What the hell, you nearly went into me!"
"Don't scream at me bitch, you were the one to.Quatre? Is that you in there?"
Quatre turned his head to see Hilde and Duo in the car that they nearly collided with. They both pulled over and got out of their cars to talk to each other. Hilde elbowed Duo.
"Oh right. Yeah. Sorry about the bitch remark, Dorothy. No offense intended."
She put up her hand. "None taken. Don't worry about it."
"So Quatre," Hilde spoke up, eyeing the car, "is the limo in the shop or the chauffer sick?"
"Oh, uh," He put his hand behind his head, "Well no, Dorothy just insisted that she drive that specific car today, and that we go out to have fun instead of work."
Duo was chuckling. "So, the Q-man is taking a day off? Mr. workaholic? Now I'm impressed. "He patted Quatre on the back so hard that Quatre nearly fell over. "Well I'm proud of you Quatre. I mean, I never thought you'd be one to ditch responsibilities. I see we've done a good job in starting to corrupt you. Nice work, Dorothy."
She nodded in agreement. "Thank you Duo."
"So, where are you guys headed?" Hilde asked.
"Actually, we're going to this burger place to get something to eat. If you like, we'd love to have you join us."
Hilde looked to Duo. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm starved, and a burger sounds great to me." She looked back to Dorothy. "Sure, we'll go. We'll just follow your car there."
"Hey, I didn't get a say in the decision," Duo whined.
Hilde looked back at him. "Oh, excuse me," she said sarcastically, "You have an objection?"
"Well, no, of course not. I don't refuse food. But, um,"
"Well good then. Let's go. I think I'll drive this time, and Dorothy, I'll follow you there."
"Great. We'll go now then."
The two couples went off to their cars, with Duo mumbling something about 'damn feminism'. As Dorothy turned the key again, Quatre asked her something.
"Dorothy?"
"Yes?"
"Where exactly is this burger place?"
She smiled. "Oh you'll see."
****
As Rashid entered the art museum, he instantly scanned the immediate surrounds for at least pairs of blonde people. He spotted one! He instantly ran up to them.
"Excuse me," he tapped them on the shoulders. Two different very stunned people turned around to see him.
"Can I help you," the confused man asked.
"Oh sorry, my mistake. I thought you were someone else." Embarrassed, he moved on and decided to make his way through the front desk. "Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes?" the attendant at the desk gave him a funny look.
"I'm looking for two people who could possibly be here. Could you make an announcement on your loudspeaker?"
"Sir, I'm sorry but we can't do that."
Rashid was getting hot under the collar. "One of the people I'm looking for is Quatre Rababa Winner, head of the Winner Corp., which is a very big contributor to this museum. Now, make that announcement. I'm looking for Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia."
"Oh, I know they are. The two of them have come here before. But, sorry sir, they haven't come in today."
"Could you make that announcement anyway, just to make sure?"
"Certainly sir."
The attendant tapped the microphone and spoke over the loudspeaker."
"Attention. If Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia are in the building, will they please report to the front desk immediately."
The two men waited there for about 15 minutes. The attendant spoke up. "Well sir, like I told you they aren't here."
"I see, thank you." Rashid turned on his heel and left, desperately thinking where he should look next. "Where could they be? I wish Quatre had at least taken his cell phone; he left it in the house with his pager. Where could they be, where could they be?" As he was making his way back to his car, he had a thought. "The movies, they might have gone there." He got back in his car and started towards the closest movie theater.
****
"Man, Dorothy. When you said this was a little burger place you sure weren't kidding about the little part," Hilde said looking around to the very small place. It was a very tiny, and very old fashioned looking little restaurant. There were small little booths in some of the surrounding walls, one table, and bar stools around the front and side of the ordering counter. Behind the counter, there was a very old fashioned grill. Dorothy led them all over to the 4 stools on the side of the counter. Then she got up and prepared to order.
"Now, how do all of you like your burgers?"
"Well done," Quatre replied.
"I'll take mine medium," Hilde said.
"Well, everybody knows I go for it rare," Duo said enthusiastically.
Dorothy confirmed the order with the cashier and ordered hers be medium rare. "What do you people want to drink?"
"Peach Snapple Iced Tea." Quatre confirmed.
"We'll take birch beer," Duo said. Dorothy gave them all their drinks and sat back down.
"Now it's going to take awhile till they're all ready, it always takes awhile here. We might as well find something to talk about. Anybody have any ideas?"
"Well," Hilde looked a little uneasy, "I heard about you having surgery, but I don't know what the whole deal was. I know this is a delicate subject, so if you don't want to discuss it, that's fine."
"Oh not at all Hilde. I'd be happy to tell you. Well I actually had to get a heat transplant because I have Chagus disease. And I actually almost died of a seizure during the operation." Quatre squeezed her hand tighter. "But, I didn't die, and here I am. It takes more than that to bring Dorothy Catalonia down."
"Yes, and that was immediately after I nearly died of a drug interaction." Duo and Hilde had shocked looks. "Oh no, I don't use drugs. But my ex girlfriend drugged me in an attempt to kill me, but my angle saved me. And here we are. Living life to the fullest!"
"Well that's an inspirational story if I ever heard one." Duo lifted his drink as Hilde did. "I propose a toast to you guys, living past death and leading a helluva life!"
"Here Here!" They banged drinks and each took a big gulp from them. Then Dorothy heard the cashier/griller call her name. "Oh Duo, yours must be ready now." She stood up, got the burger and gave it to Duo. Duo looked at it a little funny.
"Huh? Uh, Dorothy, where's the bun? It's only on toasted bread. And where's the ketchup?"
"Shhhh, Duo, don't say ketchup. They don't allow ketchup here. It spoils the tasted of the meat. And this is how burgers were originally made, so you can't spoil them, or everybody will get really off you."
Duo's mouth dropped open "No ketchup? What the hell is this place?"
Hilde put a hand over his mouth. "Duo, shut up. You're attracting many unwelcome stares."
"Duo," Dorothy pointed up over the counter, "read that sign."
"Ok, fine." He squinted. " 'This isn't Burger King. You don't get it your way, you take it my way or you don't get the damn thing.' "
She motioned her hand. "See? Now stop whining and just try the thing. I guarantee you'll like it. Here Hilde, yours is ready." She slid her burger down to her as Duo took a bite. His eyes bulged out.
"Oh my god, this is so good!!"
"You're right, Duo. This IS good."
Dorothy smiled. "I told you, didn't I?" She picked up hers and Quatre's burgers and they all ate. After they finished, they all went to the door and exited.
"Well thanks for inviting us to come Dorothy. That certainly was worth it."
"Yeah, Duo's right. That was excellent. Thank you."
"Your welcome."
"Well," Duo looked at his watch and showed Hilde, "I think, Hilde that we should get to the junkyard before it closes. We'll see you guys later, bye!"
"Bye bye!"
Duo and Hilde got in their car and drove away. Dorothy opened the car and they both got in. Quatre turned the radio on and asked her a question.
"So, now where to?"
She smiled mischievously. "That's a surprise. You'll see when we get there."
****
Rashid left the movies, very disappointed. He showed their pictures to the cashier and they had been there and left. He was trying to think where to go now. "I'll try the amusement park. But, my goodness it's so big, how will I ever look through the whole thing? And what if they aren't there? Oh well I have to try something." He got back in his car and drove to the amusement park. When he got to the gates, he looked up at the huge roller coasters. "Oh my goodness, I really hope Quatre doesn't go on any of those. It gives me gray hair just thinking about it. Oh well, I better start looking."
****
"The amusement park? W-what are we going to do here?" Quatre asked nervously.
"What do you think we're going to do, we're going to play games, eat junk food and hang out."
"Oh good." He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh yeah, and we're gonna ride all the rides, especially the roller coasters."
"Oh no." Quatre looked very scared. "Um, Dorothy, don't you know that I'm positively terrified of rides, especially roller coasters?"
"Come on, you're a Gundam pilot. You've piloted mobile suits, and you're afraid of roller coasters?"
"Well," He looked very embarrassed, "Well I've just always feared that they weren't safe. I guess it's a childhood fear."
"Well then," she slipped her arm into his, "I'm going to help you conquer that fear today. Because we're going on those rides, and I'll hold your hand every second."
"Thank you, but.I'd really prefer to just not go on the rides."
"Ok, let me make a deal with you. If you go on all the rides I want you to, then you can pick the next place we go after this. Or, if you go on one roller coaster with me, you don't have to go on any more, but I get to pick the next place we go." She stuck out her hand. "Is it a deal?"
He put out his hand to meet hers and smiled. "Deal. You always did have a good business and negotiation mind."
She looked flattered. "Well, I don't like to brag, but yes you're right, I do, don't I?"
The two of them wandered around for awhile Dorothy spotted the largest roller coaster in the park and two of them wandered around for awhile Dorothy spotted the largest roller coaster in the park and pointed it out to Quatre. "We're going on that one. Now remember our deal, you only have to go on this one. If you like it and go on more with me, you choose the next destination. But you have to at least go on one, and we're going on that one. Is that fair enough?"
"Sure, that's fair." While his stomach was doing flip-flops, he tried very hard not to show it. "That's, uh, alright with me"
"Good," she had an earnest smile on, "Let's go then."
"Let's get this over with," he mumbled to himself.
****
Rashid had to stop and take a rest from walking around so much. He had hired a park attendant to search for Quatre and Dorothy while he got some rest and ate some cotton candy, though his mind was never off Quatre for a moment. At the moment, he was quite worried. He tried to think otherwise, but he couldn't help blaming Dorothy for this whole mess. He hadn't exactly ever forgiven her for stabbing Quatre that time on Libra. And since he was upset now, he wasn't thinking straight.
"This is her fault, I know it is. He would have never gone off without telling me if it hadn't been for her," he mumbled quietly to himself
'It's not entirely her fault; you know that. He didn't have to go along with her. They were in it together,' his mind told him.
"But he's not very dominant when it comes to her, she knows that, and she took advantage of him."
'That's not true. The two of them are in love, it's natural for them to want to go off alone.'
"All I know is that he loves her. I'm not entirely sure about her intentions. What if she's using him like Sera did?"
'She's not Sera. She saved him from Sera. She hates Sera, and would never want to be like her.'
"I don't know about her, I just don't know."
He turned his attention back to the park and looked around for the attendant he hired. "For her sake, I hope he finds them. Because if something happens to him.then I'm holding her responsible."
****
"Quatre? Are you ok?" Dorothy shook his hand, which was holding hers as they neared the front of the line. Quatre was still very nervous as they were getting closer to the ride. Since it had been a semi long wait, they had seen the ride go around many times.
"I'm ok. Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
"Well, alright. But you'll love this; trust me. It'll blow you away."
"Well I trust you. But only because I love you."
She put her head on his shoulder. "Aw, thank you. I love you too."
Finally, it was their turn to get on. "Ok, this is it." She put her purse in the bin and sat in the seat next to him. The buckled their seatbelts and she took his hand. "Alright, here we go." The car slowly started to move up the first hill. Quatre's grip on her hand tightened.
"It's ok, I'm here."
The car kept going up, and up, and up, and up. It seemed like it would never reach the top. Quatre looked out, and at this point he could see the entire park. He squeezed her hand a little tighter. Then, the reached the top. And for about two seconds, they were looking down at the first drop. In those two seconds, Quatre could have sworn his heart stopped. He was even more terrified seeing the hill they were about to plummet down. Then, the car made the first drop. It sped down the hill so fast that Quatre's hair was violently thrust back. Everyone in the car was screaming as they turned upside down, loop the loop and up and down hills. The ride lasted for about 20 exhilarating seconds. When the car stopped and rolled back into the garage, Dorothy looked over at Quatre, who looked like he was frozen. She shook his hand.
"Quatre? Quatre?"
His frozen look changed into a look of pure adrenaline. He let out a loud "Whoohooo!!"
"So, what did you think?"
He never looked so excited. "Oh my god, I loved that! I loved it, I loved it, I loved it! Come on, let's go on more!!"
He was now dragging her around to find another ride. She was laughing. "You see? I told you so."
"Come on, we're going on that one now!" He pointed to the other roller coaster.
"Ok, ok." She giggled. "I guess you will pick the next place we go."
****
"Sir! Sir!"
Rashid looked up to see the attendant he hired to look for Quatre. "Yes, what is it? Did you find them?"
"No sir, I didn't find them myself. But I showed their pictures to many people and they said that they did see them in here recently."
He smiled. "Good, at least we're getting somewhere. They are here. Now all we have to do is find them." He gave the man a 20-dollar bill. "Keep that, and I'm going to hire 3 more people to look, and we should track them down." He found 3 more attendants and started looking around himself. He walked around showing pictures and asking people if they had seen them. Everyone replied that yes they had seen them, but they didn't know where they went. "Do I need to look on the rides? Naw, Master Quatre is terrified of those. Then again, perhaps she forced him to go. I'll check either way." He started walking toward the nearest roller coaster.
****
About 4 hours and 7 rides later, Quatre was starting to wear Dorothy out. "Quatre, ok, you win the bet. You choose where we go next. Now can we sit down for a second?"
"Aw, just one more ride?" He pleaded. She laughed at the irony. This was definitely a switch. He sounded like her begging. "Alright," she agreed. "One more ride. Then we can go somewhere you chose, alright?" She patted the bench spot next to her. "But first we take a breather."
He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "You know what?"
"No, what?"
"I think this is the most fun I've ever had in a single day." He kissed her forehead. "Thank you."
She put her head on his shoulder. "Don't mention it, I was glad to do it."
He leaned over and kissed her beautiful lips. "Have I told you that I love you yet today?"
She smiled. "Hmmm, I don't remember. Why don't you tell me again?"
"I love you. I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you."
She stroked his hair. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Then maybe I should put them back in."
"Oh please do."
They leaned in and kissed each other yet again. It was a soft, gentle and loving kiss. They stopped when they heard something that concerned them. It was coming from behind their bench. It sounded somewhat far away.
"Excuse me sir, have you seen these two people?"
Quatre instantly recognized the voice. "That's Rashid," he whispered to her. "What's he doing here?"
"You got me," she whispered back. She pulled him off the bench and they hid behind a tree. "We can't let him see us. He'll make us cut our day short. Looks like we have to go now." She saw him pouting. She lifted his chin with her hand and looked into his blue green eyes. "Don't worry, we can come back when we sneak off again."
"Ok, you're right. But we have to get around him." They started to go off in the opposite direction, but Dorothy pulled him behind the pole again abruptly. "No, wait. Look at that attendant. He has our pictures."
"Rashid must have hired him to look for us too." He put his back to the pole. Then, he had an idea. "There's a store right there. Let's buy some big tee shirts, hats and sunglasses so we can get to the car."
"Good idea. Here's an opening, let's go." The snuck between people in the crowd and made their way unseen into the nearest store. Dorothy saw a big tie-dye shirt and asked, "Can I get that one?"
"Well you can get it for later, but you can't wear that now. It'll attract too much attention," He pointed out. She nodded. Then she picked up the shirt. "I still want it." Then she saw a dark purple shirt with kitties on it. "This should be good."
"Yeah, that's good, it'll blend in. I'll take this one," he picked up a navy blue t-shirt. Then, they each picked out a white and blue baseball cap and two pairs of sunglasses. Then Dorothy picked out two key chains and they paid for everything. They again slipped through the crowd and got behind the tree. They slipped on the big shirts and put their sunglasses on. Dorothy put all of her hair in the hat and Quatre did the same. They nodded to each other, and strolled out in the direction of the exit. They couldn't avoid the glance of one of the attendants. He stopped them and asked.
"Excuse me, but have you seen these two people?"
Dorothy, thinking fast, put on a New York accent. "What's he taukin about? I dunno dis here people. How bout you, shuga?" She showed the pictures to Quatre.
"Nope."
"Well sorry sweetie, we dunno where des two baurbie dolls are. Sorry to dissappoint ya." She gave the pictures back to the attendant and they walked away. Quatre was snickering a little.
"I didn't know you could put on a New York accent."
She shrugged. "I thought fast and I did it. Plus somebody on my soap opera has a jersey accent, so I sorta used that."
Arms in arm, they both made it to the parking lot. They were both laughing.
"That was a cheap accent I used, but I guess it worked." They made their way to the car, and took off the big t-shirts and the hats, but Dorothy kept her sunglasses on. She turned to him and lowered her sunglasses seductively.
"So Quatre, you won the bet, where to now? I'll even let you drive." She moved into the passenger seat and he got into the driver seat.
"Well, Dorothy," he flicked his hair back a little, "after all those rides, I feel like calming down. How about we go to a bar?"
Her eyes widened a little and a pleased look came over her face. "Well I never thought you'd suggest that, but sure, let's go. Good thing the drinking age is down to 20."
****
"You let them get away! How could you be so stupid?" Rashid was screaming at the attendant that just realized the New York speaking couple was who he was looking for.
"I'm sorry sir. They were wearing big t-shirts, hats and sunglasses. Plus the girl had a New York accent, so I figured-,"
"You figured that couldn't be them? You should have looked closer! Well you don't get paid." Rashid was now sprinting off to the exit. He was pushing past people and even knocked an old lady down, which he quickly apologized for and helped her up. He got to the parking lot, and off in the distance saw a red 67 corvette driving off with two blonde people in it. He sprinted to his car and started to follow them. He followed them on the highway, off an exit ramp, but then he lost them. He got caught and traffic and the car went too far away to see.
"Damn it! I was so close. Well I am going to find them. I will find them."
****
"Well, here we are."
Quatre parked in a space and the both got out of the car. Dorothy stopped him for a second. "Ok, we have to decide. Who gets to drink and who is the designated driver?"
"Whatever you want, it really doesn't matter to me."
"Ok then, you drive and I'll have maybe some white wine, but not too much. Unless you want to drink, in that case I'll be perfectly happy with club soda. I just had some wine yesterday, so if you want to drink, then I'll drive."
"Well, alright. I could go for some white wine. Just make sure I don't get too drunk."
"Fair deal." They shook on it and entered the bar. There wasn't much going on, just some people playing pool. They took two barstools. They both decided to get club soda. They started to relax.
"This is good, isn't it? We can just hang out and not worry about anything at the moment."
"Yeah. This is the most time I've ever had to relax." He poked the ice in his drink and stared down at it. "Do you think we could talk about something?"
She sipped some of her soda. "Sure. Anything."
"Ok. Well, this is something I've been thinking about." He was slightly pink. "I'm very embarrassed about it, but, uh, um."
"Oh just say it," she prompted him.
"Ok. Well, later tonight, if you'd like," he grinned, showing his shining white teeth, "maybe we use that chained collar and whip you bought."
She spat her drink all over the bar and looked very shocked, and at the same time slightly embarrassed. "How did you know about that?"
"Well, I was looking for something and I happened to find it." He ran a finger down her face. "I'd be happy to use it tonight if you want."
"Ooooo," she cocked and eyebrow, "I like the sound of that." She picked up his soda and sniffed it. "Are you sure that's just club soda? Is it spiked with anything?"
He mocked an offended face. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I just never thought I'd hear that attitude from you."
"Well, now you have. And I think I'd like to use the collar and whip on you first." He teased her
"Weeeeeelll," she snickered, "I know I like the sound of that. If you don't have to work when we get home that is."
He brushed his hand. "Oh to hell with work."
She almost mocked choked on her drink this time. "Oh my god, you swear now too?"
"Well, you're the best bad influence on me ever." He raised his glass and met her eyes. "To you."
She raised her glass in agreement. "I'll drink to that."
They both sipped their club soda. "You sure you didn't want anything to drink like beer or anything?"
"Nah, I don't need it."
They both drank their drinks. "I have to go the bathroom. I'll be right back."
"Ok sure." Dorothy watched as he went to the back. Then she got more club soda. Then, she heard somebody breathing very grossly behind her. She turned around on her stool and couldn't help make a face at the disgusting big man behind her. He was at least 6 foot, and was very fat and sweaty.
"May I help you?" she asked annoyed, cocking her eyebrow.
"Hey baby," he sat down in Quatre's chair and licked his lips. "What's a pretty little thing like you doin all by yourself in a place like this?"
She couldn't help but look totally repulsed and made a gagging sound. "I'm here with my boyfriend, who's in the bathroom, and that's his chair you're in, so kindly," she gestured her hand, "please move."
"Well I don't think I want to. You're such a sexy looking lady."
"Ewww, go away you disgusting pig!"
"Ohh, that turns me on baby. How about you ditch your boyfriend and spend the night with a real man?" He tried to put his arm around her, but she thrust it away violently.
"Listen scumbag, I said no. Now leave me alone."
"Oh I don't think so. I get what I want, and what I want is you." He pushed her down flat on the bar and got on top of her. She struggled to break free but he was so big. He was trying to pull off her shirt so she used her last resort and kicked him in the groin. Even that still didn't faze him. His hands were moving in places she didn't want him to touch making her scream in fury. Suddenly he broke his hold on her and slipped backwards. She then saw Quatre had hit him with the barstool. "Alright Quatre!" She spotted the rapier on the wall and attempted to pull it off. Quatre meanwhile looked deadly, like he would explode.
"And if you EVER touch my girlfriend again, I personally promise to kill you!!"
Dorothy succeeded in pulling the rapier off the wall and stuck it to his throat. "That's right, touch me again, loser man, and," she moved it down to his groin, "well you won't be a man anymore. Is that clear?"
The frightened pervert nodded and went away to his own business. Quatre looked her over for about a second, then pulled her into a tight embrace. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"
"No, he didn't, I'm fine. But you came just in time." She held him equally tight. "I even pulled a groin kicker, but I guess he had balls of steel."
"Let's leave now. I don't anybody else to bother you." She nodded and they headed for the door. But they ducked behind a pool table when they saw Rashid enter. "Damn it. How did he find us here?"
She sighed and rubbed her shoulder. "Look, why don't we let him find us? We're going home anyway, right?"
He nodded, but watched her rub her shoulder. "Is something wrong with your shoulder?"
"No no, it's just a little sore. I think I pulled I muscle pulling that rapier off the wall. It was pretty stuck on there."
"Ok," though he wasn't sure that was it, they stood up and let themselves be seen. "Hello, Rashid."
"Master Quatre!!" He ran up to him and gave him a hug, then pulled away. "Oh Master Quatre I've been so worried. I've been trying to find you all day."
"We know, we uh, saw you at the amusement park." Dorothy said.
He looked at her with less enthusiasm. "Yes, and as I heard you disguised yourself to not be noticed so you could sneak away, to this place. I suppose you picked this place, Miss Dorothy?"
"Actually I did, Rashid." Quatre put in.
"Oh, er, my mistake. I apologize."
"That's ok," Dorothy said, but was slightly suspicious of the way Rashid looked at her. Was he angry with her? She didn't know, and at the moment she didn't' care.
"I suppose you people have been drinking."
"No actually, we just had club soda."
"Oh, alright. Master Quatre, may I drive you home? It would take a great worry off my mind. Dorothy could drive the other car, couldn't you?"
"Uh, alright, sure." She said a little confused.
"But Rashid, I want to go with-,"
"It's ok, Quatre." She was now looking at Rashid. She understood that he was upset with her. "You go with Rashid. I'll follow you guys home. He probably has business to discuss with you, right?"
"Yes, that's precisely it."
"But Dorothy."
"Look," she took his hand, "Go with him now, discuss business and we can have more time to ourselves at home. Ok?"
"Well, ok. But follow us close so I don't get worried about you, alright?" He stroked her hair.
"Sure."
The three of them headed out. Dorothy gave Quatre a hug and a kiss and waved goodbye as she got in the corvette and he got in the limo. She understood things now. Rashid was upset with her for taking him out today, but he didn't want to hurt Quatre so he didn't say anything. "Oh well, here goes nothing," she said as she turned the key and started to follow them home.
Author's Note: I don't the corvette, it belongs to it's respective owners. I also don't own the movie Austin Powers: Goldmember. I just loved that movie so much I had to put it in. It belongs to Mike Meyers and probably other people. The burger place they go to for lunch is actually based on a place called Louis Lunch in New Haven. They really do make burgers in the original old-fashioned way as they first made them, and it's true they don't allow ketchup. And when Dorothy uses her New York accent because someone on her soap opera had a jersey one, I used that because the soap opera I watch, As the World Turns, has the character Rose, who has a jersey accent, so I based it on that.(Rose is one of my fav characters by the way, and Rose and Paul are my fav couple :-) I'd like to give credit to the creators and owners of all the references I used and to thank them. In other notes, what do you think? Please review!