A Bolt From the Blue

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She can't remember the last time she was this angry. The pencil in her grip, painfully tight, begins to crack, but that doesn't matter. Just as well that it's a pencil instead of a pretty little blonde neck.

Elli knows, logically, that being this angry is silly – she's seen it coming for a while, and now it has: Vickie, waltzing into the Clinic with an "extra-special present for someone", and throwing Elli a conspiratorial wink and grin before disappearing behind the curtain that partitions off the doctor's work area.

And not emerging for several minutes.

That extra-special present, she is fairly certain, had a hint of blue about it.

She can't imagine that it would be taking this long, if he planned to refuse.

Thoughts of eavesdropping in a barefaced, shameless manner flit briefly across her mind, but she banishes them before they can fully form.

After all, she doesn't want to hear this.

Burying her face in her hands, she gives a despairing little sigh, and only looks up, startled, when she feels tears beginning to drip hotly through her fingers.

Without hesitation, she gathers up her skirts and makes quickly for the stairs.

The doctor might be angry with her, disappearing like this in the middle of a work day, but if he can take fifteen minutes off at random to visit with his new fiancée, then surely he'll allow his assistant a few minutes upstairs to collect her thoughts.

And hopefully, find a way to get the red out of her eyes, she thinks, grimacing at her own reflection in the mirror.

In a minute.

Just now, her pillows and quilts that Grandma made and her favourite velvety-soft teddy-bear beckon to her with almost irresistible pull; and before she knows what she's doing, she's huddled miserably up against the wall, getting her poor teddy all damp with tears.

She can deal with this.

She's been preparing for it, after all.

In three more minutes, she decides, nevertheless pulling her pillow tightly over her head, she's going to get up, wash her face, comb her hair again, and march back downstairs. There, she'll give the doctor some story about stomach pains or headache, and break off into a joyous squeal as she notices Vickie's hand in his and the feather somewhere in the vicinity.

"Congratulations," she says aloud, trying for enthusiasm and wincing as her voice comes out soft, quivery, and cracking with pain. "I know you'll be happy; you're perfect together!"

Her voice breaks on a sob, and she dives for her pillow again.

No, this is silly. She'll have plenty of time to cry about it when she's not supposed to be working. After all, Vickie has that farm; the doctor won't make her leave it. They'll live there, and she'll live here.

Yes, plenty of time to act like a silly, heartbroken child later.

She pulls herself to her feet and grimaces as she catches her reflection in the mirror.

I'll bet Vickie never looks like this; that's why 'unrequited love' isn't in her vocabulary.

A tiny voice that she identifies instantly as her conscience, a voice that sounds strangely like Grandma, whispers to her that maybe it's not because Vickie is beautiful, but because she's sweet and friendly and unassuming and knows how to laugh and cry with people.

The echo of this thought in her mind, Elli straightens her hair, daubs what make-up she can over the red around her eyes, and smoothes down her dress.

On the way out of the room, she nearly collides with the little blonde in the process of barrelling through the door, and it startles her, because she's just been thinking about her and now here she is. She blushes, and looks away miserably, but doesn't fight it when two sunburned little paws find her shoulders and steer her back toward the bed.

"What's wrong?" Vickie demands, kneeling on the floor in front of her, and that eye-level gaze is deadly serious, penetrating, and so altogether un-Vickie-like that Elli looks away.

"Nothing," she replies with cheerfulness that sounds nearly genuine. "I'm alright; I just had a bit of a headache all of a sudden, and I wanted to take something for it."

"That's one hell of a headache, if it makes your eyes all swollen and turns your nose red."

"I've gotten them for a long time."

"You're a bad liar."

Vickie watches, startled, as Elli curls up, burying her face in her hands, obscuring large soft brown eyes filling with tears, lip trembling, nose red and cheeks swollen already, and draws her knees to her chest.

"Vickie, please leave me alone for a little while."

With that, Vickie is bounding to her feet, and the next moment Elli gives a startled little shriek as she finds herself bounced nearly off the bed by the farmer's weight landing next to her. But two flannel-clad arms are winding around her neck and keeping her right where she is.

"I'm not leaving you alone. You're my friend, and you're upset. And anyway, I hate seeing you cry, because a face like that was only ever meant to be happy."

Elli feels Vickie flinch a bit, as though unpleasantly surprised by her own words, but the clean, fresh-air smell of the soft fabric of her freshly washed, ghastly ugly, comforting and snuggly plaid shirt is incredibly appealing, and the brunette finds herself leaning tentatively on the other girl's shoulder.

"I am happy for you two, you know," she tells Vickie after a long moment. "You're the two nicest people I've ever known, besides Grandma, and I'm glad you found each other, because there are so many sweet, kind people throwing themselves away on good-looking jerks that it makes me think that things can go right sometimes, after all."

Her voice breaks slightly, so she stops talking abruptly. And now she can almost hear the gears turning beneath all that soft, sun-lightened blonde hair as Vickie mulls this over.

"Okay, Elli, that's really sweet and everything, but what are you talking about? Who's you two?"

"W-well, you and the doctor." She wonders vaguely if it might ever not hurt to say that.

"Uh…what about us? We kind of have to be friends, if we're sharing the job of looking after you. He probably wouldn't keep letting me chase you up here when you run away every time you see me, if I didn't try to keep on good terms, right?"

The tight, controlled anger in the farmer's voice makes Elli lift her head and stare, astonished, up at her friend.

"Vickie, you just got engaged," she reminds her lightly. "You should be a little happier."

"Why should I be happier?" Vickie demands. "It's hot as Johnny Depp's ass out there, and all my chickens are sulking because their feathers are wilting in the heat, and these weird little guys keep showing up every morning and tromping down half my pineapples because they're trying to water the other half! And on top of all that, my best friend is crying, and she won't tell me why, and I think she's gone nuts because she's remembering things that aren't happening, and if they cart her off to the crazy bin, I'll never get to give her this!"

Elli stares, stunned, as the Blue Feather flutters harmlessly to the floor despite the force behind the blonde's throw. She climbs off the bed, instinctively edging carefully around the feather, and hurries after Vickie, who is, by now, pacing the room feverishly.

"Um…I thought you were marrying the doctor," she says lamely, fiddling with her apron.

Vickie stares strangely at her for a moment, then pulls open the bedroom door.

"HEY! DOCTOR!" she bellows over the landing.

"Er, yes?" comes the soft, bewildered reply.

"Do you want to get married?"

A very long silence, during which Elli can almost hear his attempt to make heads or tails of the situation.

"To whom?" he finally calls back.

"Well, to me, you jerk!" Vickie sputters.

"Oh." A long pause, during which Elli can nearly see his expression tightening into the concentration of seeking out the most tactful response. "Honestly? Not at all."

Vickie turns to Elli with a gesture toward the staircase.

"See? Even if that was kind of insulting, it proves my point. Now, why the heck did you think I was coming here to marry your boss?"

"Why else would I think you were coming here?" Elli demands angrily.

"For you, you idiot!"

"But...um...why did you bring a Blue Feather?"

"Why do you think?" Vickie scoffs, crossing her arms. "Why else would I bring you a Blue Feather?"

The little nurse curls in on herself slightly, blushing pinkly at the half-angry, half-teasing sparkle in Vickie's eyes.

"I-I just didn't know you liked girls."

"I don't like girls," Vickie huffs. "I like you. Okay, more than that." She stoops to pick up the feather. "So what do you think?"

A long moment.

"Will…will Carter do a wedding ceremony for us?" the little nurse asks, voice muffled by her hands as she peeks through her fingers.

Vickie's smile is radiant enough that Elli thinks, laughing a little dizzily, that she probably doesn't even need to bother smiling with her, but couldn't stop if she wanted to.

"Does that mean you're considering it?"

Staring back at the big blue eyes fixed on her, hopeful and worried and hesitant and expectant as though the very fate of the world depends on her answer, Elli wonders dimly why the knowledge of the tall, dark-haired man downstairs, with his quiet intelligence and dark eyes and wonderful smile when she's lucky enough to earn it isn't nearly as important as it was a minute ago. But then, she can't just wash her hands of it and let the world sort out its own fate – hasn't Grandma been saying for years that she has a bit of a helping-people thing? And after all, hasn't she heard of girls doing this before, taking a little while for their brains to catch up to their hearts and finding themselves caught by surprise by the realization that their one and only just...isn't anymore?

"Even if Carter won't do our ceremony, we could always just live together as roommates and pester him until he changes his mind," she suggests at last, accepting the Blue Feather and running one finger reverently over the delicate, shining downy-soft side.

The next instant, it flutters, once again, to the ground, as Elli finds herself caught in a bear-hug. She gives a squeak of surprise as sweet pale pink lips, kept soft despite wind and blazing sun by dutifully applied lip balms – strawberry flavour, she thinks dizzily – crush exuberantly to hers.

Vickie's always had this almost supernatural ability to throw her off-balance. But then, Grandma has always told her that falling can be one of the most interesting parts of life. And, the little brunette decides with a giddy little laugh as she finds herself pushed back against the bed and vigorously snuggled, she just might be able to get used to this.

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End Notes: Okay! It's done! And it had an appropriately cutesy-fluffy-sappy ending. But did the ending feel too much like it came out of nowhere? Opinions are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!