Caroline and the Surprise Shower
Written by Mitch
Email: mitch_work1@yahoo.com
Rating: G
Genre: Romance/Drama
Chapters: 7
Summary: This story takes place towards the end of season one, a few days before Caroline and Del are to be married. A surprise shower is planned for Caroline, but there may be more surprises than expected.
Author's notes: I can't take credit for this whole story, several parts are from the "Caroline and the Bridesmaids" episode. Characters' thoughts are written in italics.
Chapter 1
Richard and Caroline sit opposite each other across the partners desk in her Tribeca apartment. Richard is bored, waiting for Caroline to give him something to work on. Caroline, frustrated by writer's block, is under additional stress due to preparations for her upcoming wedding to Del in a few days.
"Richard, help me out!" Caroline pleads.
Richard has been feeling irritated lately, and he isn't quite sure why. "Help you out?" he thinks. "Why should I? You're everything I can't stand. You're meddlesome, you're talkative, you're perky, you're… beautiful, so tantalizingly, achingly… WAIT A MINUTE! Wait a minute, where did that thought come from? No, no, no! I can't be having thoughts like this. Caroline's made her choice, she's almost a married woman."
"Hellooooo? Earth to Richard? Are you gonna answer me or not?"
"I'm sorry, my mind wandered. What was the question?" asks Richard, embarrassed by his previous thoughts.
Caroline repeats angrily "I asked if you had any ideas that could help me with the strip. C'mon Richard!" Caroline calms down and apologizes. "I'm sorry Richard. I'm sorry I snapped at you. You've been working a lot of overtime lately, and I really do appreciate it. It's just that I've been under a lot of pressure lately, what with preparing for the wedding, and trying to stock up two weeks worth of strips so that Del and I can go on our honeymoon."
Richard, back to his usual self, needles "You mean your getting married depends on these strips?"
"No!... Yes!... No!... I don't know what I mean! I mean, I'm gonna get married!... It's just that, I'll be damned if I'll see two "Cathy" strips staring me in the face from the newspaper, every day of our honeymoon!" a confused Caroline replies.
"Okay, okay, okay. I'll try to think of something to help you with your writer's block. But, you have to promise me I won't have to eat any of those allspice monstrosities this time."
"Hey! Salty loved those!" Caroline replies defensively.
"I rest my case."
……
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Linda steps off the elevator. She is one of Caroline's bridesmaids, a blond bossy businesswoman. As she walks towards Caroline's apartment, Annie enters the hallway from the stairway, and cuts her off.
"Don't go in there, I didn't get Caroline out of the apartment yet. Just give me two seconds" Annie hurriedly explains.
"You know, I told the other girls that you weren't going to be able to handle this" an irritated Linda responds.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, put it in a memo" Annie replies, as she pushes Linda into her apartment. Annie is just about to enter Caroline's apartment when heavily pregnant Vicki, another bridesmaid, steps off the elevator.
"Annie! Bathroom! Quick!" Vicki spits out urgently.
Annie ushers Vicki to her door, opens it, and points "It's over there". Annie turns, but Linda blurts out "Annie wait!"
"What, what, what?!" Annie asks.
"Vicki can't help decorate when she's like this! You'll have to help decorate" says Linda.
"We can't decorate with Caroline around! Somebody's gonna have to get her away" Annie responds.
"What about that Richard guy?" asks Linda.
"Yeah, yeah. Great idea. Leave it to me" Annie says, as she heads to Caroline's door.
……
Back in Caroline's apartment, Caroline and Richard have just finished their writer's block discussion.
"I rest my case" says Richard.
Just then, Annie barges in. "Okay, sorry I'm late. I had some errands to run" Annie apologizes.
"That's okay, Annie. We're really busy here" Caroline replies. Richard snickers, knowing how much they're really getting done, 'cause of Caroline's writer's block. "Anyway, Annie, you were supposed to be here by one. I couldn't wait".
Annie spots Richard's lunch, a box of Chinese food, on the desk, and gets an idea. She "mistakenly" takes the box and throws it in the trash. "Well, don't eat this crap, Caroline. I'll get you something better."
"That was my crap" Richard protests.
"In that case, bon appétit" says Annie, as she picks the box up out of the trash and throws it at Richard.
"Annie!" cries Caroline, appalled.
"You're right, you're right." Annie apologizes to Richard, as she tries to drag him outside. "You know what, Richard? I feel really bad about ruining your lunch."
"No, that's okay" Richard replies, staying put.
"So, there's some lasagna outside." Annie says, tempting Richard.
"What?" says Richard. Curious, he goes along.
"It's my mom's. She's famous for her lasagna. She makes it with noodles, and sauce…"
Once in the hall, Richard asks "There's not any sausage in it, is there? Because…"
"Shut up, there is no lasagna! You need to take Caroline out of the apartment so that her surprise bridal shower can be set up in there."
At that moment, a teary eyed Beth, yet another bridesmaid, steps out of the elevator, holding a huge bunch of balloons. "Steve broke up with me!" she wails.
"Get over it!" Annie unsympathetically dismisses her, and pushes Beth back into the elevator. She turns back to Richard. "Are you gonna help me get her out of there, or is this just one more thing I screw up?"
"Hmm" Richard taunts, causing Annie to hit him on the arm. "Okay, okay", Richard gives in.
"Keep her out for five hours. We've got a lotta stuff to do" Annie tells him.
"Five hours!" Richard wails. "How will I even get her out of there, let alone keep her occupied for five hours?"
"Just do it! Now get in there!" Annie commands.
"Okay, okay!" Richard pauses to think before opening the door. They both return to Caroline's apartment, and Richard thanks Annie "Mmm, that was good. I'll have to drop your mother a thank you card."
"That's okay, Richie. I'll leave you two alone to work now" Annie says as she leaves.
"Uh, so, Caroline. I have an idea for your strip."
"Finally!" says Caroline, relieved. "Yeah, go on."
"You know, maybe you're having a hard time concentrating on ideas for your strip, 'cause there are too many things here that remind you of the wedding. I mean", Richard says as he points around the room "your favors are there, your invitations are there, your wedding dress is upstairs…"
"Hmm, maybe you're right, Richard. Maybe if I could just clear my mind of the wedding for awhile, some ideas for the strip will pop into my head. Let's go out!"