Double Jeopardy Chapter 6 Is the Secret Out?, an i dream of jeannie fanfic

Chapter 6 – Is the Secret Out?

The next day, the Hartleys were in the lobby of their hotel waiting for their NASA tour guide. Dr Bellows had been unsure who was going to do the tour. Bob was relieved when Roger showed up, in full Army uniform rather than his flight suit, to pick them up.

"Mornin', folks. I'm your tour guide this morning," Roger told them.

As Roger took them all over the Johnson Space Center, into Mission Control, some of the office spaces, Emily asked a lot of questions. Bob tried to get him on the subject of Jeannie, but Roger wasn't budging. Finally, Bob took him aside.

"Roger, you have a Top Secret Clearance, don't you?" Bob asked.

"Of course, all astronauts do."

"If I tell you something in confidence, it isn't going any further, is it?"

"No, I keep secrets pretty well," Roger replied, thinking of the secret he'd been keeping for about 13 years. "What's up?"

"Well – I have a patient in Chicago who thinks a female genie landed on his lap in the cockpit of a plane," Bob said. He expected a huge laugh out of Roger, and was surprised when he didn't get it.

"A female genie? What did she look like, did he say?"

"Oh, yes, he described her to me perfectly. Blond, gorgeous, perfect figure – wearing a pink – um – harem outfit." Bob felt silly just saying the words.

"Sounds like my kind of a dream," Roger said, smiling a wicked sort of grin.

"He said her NAME was Jeannie."

"Oh, really? Well, what else would a female genie be called? FAWZIA?" he said, trying to make a joke of a situation that was steadily making him nervous. He wondered if Dr Hartley was in cahoots with Dr Bellows, to try to catch him and Tony.

"It does sound rather – preposterous, doesn't it. But I'm going to tell you something else, because I think you're a man of your word, and that you do NOT reveal secrets readily," Bob said. Roger nodded, and Bob went on. "The woman was Tony Nelson's wife, and my patient – is my neighbor Howard."

Roger was determined not to spill the beans, after 13 years. So he didn't say a thing.

"Do you think he's being serious? After what I saw last night at your house, I think he is."

Roger turned and put his big hand on the shorter man's shoulder and said, "Dr. Hartley, I think you should go with it, as you psychiatrists and psychologists would say. Let him talk to you, and get it off his chest. He may need to talk about it."

Bob could see he wasn't going to get a real answer, yes or no, from Roger Healey. He tried another tactic. "What did you think of your double, my friend Howard?"

"Seems like a nice fellow. I'm glad he found me. But he may need to come out of the clouds a little more often."

Bob had to laugh at that. He'd felt the same way about Howard, many times.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago a few days later, Howard dropped into the Hartley apartment as he often did.

"Hi, Bob, hi, Emily. How was Houston?" he asked.

"Very nice. I'm glad I went, but I think some of my patients missed me. How about you, what did you think of Houston?"

"I still think Jeannie's a genie. But I may be crazy," Howard stated, and trotted out the apartment door, leaving Emily with her jaw dropped and Bob with a twinkle in his eyes.

Tracy's Crock Pot Roast Beef

1 roast beef (Tracy uses rump roast or chuck roast, but sirloin works well, too)

Onion powder

2 cans whole potatoes, drained

Optional: baby carrots

Mixture: 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup water

Put the roast in the crock pot. Sprinkle onion powder on the roast, to taste. Add the cans of potatoes. If you want, add baby carrots. Pour the liquid mixture over the roast and potatoes. Put the lid on the crock pot. Cook 6 hours on high or 12 hours on low. Serve with a vegetable.

Tracy's Crock Pot Roast Chicken

1 roaster chicken, large

1 cup water

Put roaster chicken in the crockpot, being careful to remove any giblets or bag of giblets that might be hidden inside it. Pour one cup water over the chicken. Cook about 10 hours on low, or 5 hours on high.

Roger's Old Fashioned Noodles

2 packages frozen egg noodles (such as Grandma's brand)

Cook noodles as suggested on package, substituting some of the liquid from the chicken cooking in the crockpot for the water suggested on the package. Bring to a boil, cook on low simmer for about 35 minutes till noodles are to taste.

Jeannie's Apple Pie

Pastry for a 2-crust pie

¾-1 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

½ to 1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

6-7 cups sliced peeled apples

2 tbsp butter

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix lightly though apples sliced ¼" thick. Heap in pastry-lined 9" pie pan. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust and curved edges; cut vents.

Bake in hot oven 425F 50 to 60 minutes, or until crust is browned and apples are tender.

NOTE: Amount of sugar you will need with vary with the tartness of apples. This, and the spices, are what took me so long to perfect the pie for the contest!

Jeannie