HTML1DocumentEncodingwindows-1252GeneratorMicrosoft Word 97MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTONMR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON
Based on characters created by Steven Levitan
(A/N: As I said in the 'apology', this is the rewrite of that dreadfully awful...oh, let's not even discuss it anymore, huh? OK, since it's been a while, let's review, shall we? I don't own any of these characters, which belong to Steven Levitan Productions, Sony Pictures Television and Brillstein/Grey Entertainment, although no longer to NBC-TV)
From years of experience and training as a top-flight personal assistant, Dennis Finch was now an expert in many fields, including the one he now participated in. While not a trait that one might list at the top of one's resume, he'd found the fine art of eavesdropping through a door a valuable asset.
On the other side of the door, Nina Van Horn watched as her ad for Jack Gallo's congressional campaign finished up and Jack slowly picked up the remote for his newly installed (based on the smell of scorched plastic and Armani) video system to shut it off. To the amazement of the two people in the office, and Finch on the other side, the machine did as ordered by the remote.
"So?" Nina asked, "What did you think?"
"You didn't have to do that, Nina."
'Do what?' Finch asked himself silently as he strained to make sense of it.
"Dennis?"
"AAAUGH!" Finch leapt straight up in the air and, spinning around in the air two and a half times (he never could pull off three spins, even at his best) landed behind his desk at the sudden and silent appearance of Maya behind him.
"Jeez, Maya, make some noise when you sneak up on people!"
At that moment, the door opened and Jack appeared.
"What was that…"
"Nothing," Dennis assured him.
"But I thought…"
"No, you didn't."
Confused, Jack returned to his office as Dennis retook his position at the door.
"Dennis," Maya asked, "Are you spying again?"
"I view it as 'covert intelligence gathering'," he corrected her, "But anyway, what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to know if you had plans tonight is all."
Dennis now had the look of confusion as he stood and looked over at the woman of his dreams and said, "Not really, why?"
"Oh," Maya backed up, suddenly flustered and blushing, "No reason. I just thought I'd make dinner tonight and wondered when you'd be back is all."
With that, she suddenly pivoted and disappeared, almost in a flat run, for her office. As he watched, he wondered if all the Gallos were nuts or something before returning to his scouting position. The thought that she might be planning something danced through his head but then quickly out again. This was Maya Gallo, he told himself, and she doesn't do that kind of thing.
Meanwhile, back in Jack's office, Jack stood and crossed the office to Nina.
"I thought that we weren't going to mention that again. Besides, it wasn't all that special."
"Oh, Jack," Nina shook her head, "You have no idea what it meant to me at that time to hear those words."
Jack thought about that a moment, then asked, "Nina, I called you an alcoholic."
"Well, no, you called me a drunk, but that's not the point. I mean, you were the only person at that party that night to tell me to get down off that chandelier and go right into Betty Ford."
"Well, if I hadn't, you and those three other people up there might have been hurt."
Jack put his hands on Nina's shoulders. "I didn't think it was that special to you. I mean, you've been in treatment six times."
"Seven. But that was the very first time, and the fact that you even paid for it, the fact that you cared enough to do it is something that I've never forgotten.
"I mean, you've done so much for me, and I just wanted to pay you back in some small way. I thought this was my chance. So, I took it."
Smiling, he patted her on the shoulder. He wondered to himself what it said about a man that probably his most loyal friend was the woman standing before him.
"Thank you, Nina. Dennis!"
The door flung open. "You called?"
Jack walked back to the video player and removed the tape. "Take this down to the party offices. Tell them this is my new spot."
Taking the tape, Dennis trotted to the elevator as Nina dashed back to Maya's office. Remembering that he'd promised earlier to pick something up for Maya earlier in the day (the fire in Jack's office had driven it from his mind), he pivoted, paused for a moment to admire his natural balance, and returned to Maya's office. He paused when he heard Nina say through the half-open door, "Well, if your intention was to get him to notice you, then you picked the right thing."
Peering through the crack, Dennis say Maya hold the rid nightie up in front of her.
"I know," she sighed, "I just wish I didn't have to use it."
"Well, you know Finch."
"That's true."
"What about Finch?"
Both sets of eyes turned and fell on Dennis, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded and obviously hurt.
"Oh," Maya stammered, "Uh...Dennis..."
"Hey," he shrugged, sadly assuming the 'Finch' shell he'd thought he'd been able to drop around Maya and cocking an eyebrow, "Don't bother explaining. I probably wouldn't understand it, anyway, would I?"
Turning, he walked away as Maya stood frozen behind her desk. Nina moved beside her.
"Do you really love him, Maya?" she asked.
"Yes," she answered, shaking and needing a drink, "I do."
"Then go after him, you little ample-breasted fool, before you lose him for good!"
Elliot was hungry. Felling 'in the groove' that morning, he'd managed to schedule all his shoots one after another and failed to pencil in lunch. Crossing the bullpen to let Jack know that he was ready to shoot the cover, he spotted Dennis making tracks for the elevator.
"Hey, Finch, where..."
"Lunch," he snapped back at him as he boarded the elevator.
"Could you..."
"No."
As the doors closed on Finch, Maya emerged from her office.
"Where's Dennis?"
"Elevator. Hey, Maya, are you..."
"Yes."
"Then could you..."
"No."
"Oh, OK."
Blush's lobby was a sight to behold. A large, glass walled area, it was centerpieced by a large statue of Venus' birth from the foam of the sea. Having worked there so long, no one, including Dennis, noticed the giant thing anymore. Especially today, as Dennis was in no mood for anything to do with love as he stomped for the doors. He'd nearly made them when he heard his name.
"Dennis! Dennis, wait, please!"
Turning, he saw Maya running towards him. Catching up, she paused a moment to catch her breath, then said, "Please, let me explain."
"No, let me guess. Little Maya bought herself a teeny-tiny little silky thing because she thought Dennis was just too shallow to appreciated anything about her but her breasts." He'd reached a falsetto midway through the statement before bringing his voice back down to normal to add, "I thought you knew me better than that, and had more self respect for yourself."
Dennis grabbed the handle of the door to open it. Maya grabbed his hand.
"Now wait a minute, Dennis. This isn't about self-respect, this is about love and the love I have for you. I mean, when I thought about it, I realized that I loved you from the moment you saved me from that jerk who was pretending to be Miss Pretty. Oh, but would you look my way? Noooo, you were too busy concentrating on tall blondes with fake boobs and the IQ of office furniture!"
"Oh, really. And what about you? Ever since you sat in that bar and told me about King Lear, I've been in love with you, but would you look my way? Hell, no, you were too busy drooling over mindless sides of beef and bald, self-centered photographers!"
"You mean Elliot?"
"Oh course I mean Elliot. How many bald, self-centered photographers do you know?"
They were nose to nose now, and drawing a crowd.
"I almost married that ego-centric chauvinist because I figured you'd rather spend your life with Barbie dolls."
"I actually did marry a Barbie doll because I figured you were into idiot hunks."
She thought a moment. "Are you saying you never loved Adrienne?"
"Of course not, Maya," Dennis' voice cracked a little, "How could I love her when I've always loved you?"
At that moment, they noticed the crowd.
"OK, people," he said, "Break it up, now. Go find your own lives, now, go on."
Once the crowd cleared, they stepped outside.
"Honestly," Maya asked, "You really never loved Adrienne?"
"No. When I stood there, marrying her, I vowed that if I had to spend my life with someone other than you, I'd ditch them at the pearly gates and hang out for you."
"Why?" Now, it was Maya's turn to tear up.
Dennis smiled and placed his hand on her cheek. "Because I promised myself the moment that I knew that I loved you that no matter what, I wasn't going to heaven without you. If I had to wait forever outside, I'd do it until you got there."
He smiled. "Sappy, huh?"
She was unable to speak. Something in the words had struck her deeper than any words ever spoken to her had. Unable to produce a voice, she shook her head and mouthed the words, 'I love you Dennis'.
In what would become their own special expression, he mouthed the words, 'I love you, Maya' in response.
Moving his hand to her chin, he brought her lips to his and kissed her, quickly but filled with more love than a hundred deeper, more passionate kisses. There'd be time for those kisses later, he figured. Even with that brief kiss, Dennis felt that the world had ceased to exist except for himself and his beautiful Maya.
As they stood there, it began to rain. Removing his jacket, he draped it over Maya's head and placed his arm around her shoulders. They walked down the street this way, Dennis soaked to the skin by the downpour. He barely noticed, and didn't care if he got wet. After all, he had Maya.
Wasn't that enough?
(OK, I mean it this time. Did I just write that? It's better than the last one, but still...EWWW! Anyway, I hope you all like this one better, because I actually liked writing it better, OK, no quiz today, but I'll give you all this little teaser. Somebody was watching this whole exchange. Who? Well, you'll just have to wait until next time. Until then, all those whom I haven't driven away by that godawful posting)