I'm super pumped about this chapter. I had sooooooo much fun writing it, and I'm excited to see people's reactions to what I have in store for Zoe. The scenes in this chapter are the reason this fic exists at all. They wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it all out. Hopefully, I did the scenes justice.
Again, this has not been betaed, so all errors are mine. Mine, I tell you. Going forward, let's just assume all future chapters have not been betaed unless I say otherwise.
Now, read my lovelies, and don't forget to leave a review. :)
Chapter 3
Three stressful hours later, Zoe found herself wearing a white t-shirt and simple black apron with the words, Nickie's, and a pink stiletto high heel flitting across the front. Funny, she could have sworn Rose worked at a huge department store, not that Nickie's wasn't just as big.
Her dark hair had a mussed appearance as if she had traveled a great distance, and it wouldn't be far from the truth. It took asking directions from three different people, taking several wrong turns, and traversing a few neglected alleys that screamed gang territory before she finally located Rose's work in downtown London. With an exhausted sigh, Zoe picked a stray leaf out of her hair. Her first time in London and her sightseeing involved dumpsters, vomit, and at one point, the gum scraped off the bottom of someone's shoe. Oh well, at least her headache and nausea were gone.
Thinking she was late, she walked into the building with great reluctance. Within seconds, a flustered man with a toothbrush mustache and a salt and pepper toupee swarmed up to her. His silver name tag told her this was Rose's manager, Robert. "Rose, thank god you're here! Elizabeth called in sick, and no one has been working on the floor. I wasn't expecting to see you until the night shift."
Zoe stopped him there, holding up a hand. "Wait. I thought my shift started at ten this morning." That's what Jackie told her anyway.
"Oh, no," Robert said, confused. "You asked to start working evenings, remember? Something about university classes. You said you wanted to take day classes like everyone else."
"Oh, yeah," Zoe said with a half-laugh, as if only just remembering. "I must be still half-asleep." She smiled at the manager, trying not to show her confusion. In the show, Rose didn't even have her A-levels. What was she doing attending college? She wondered whether Jackie knew about this. Judging by her ignorance of Rose's schedule change, she had a feeling she didn't. But, why would the real Rose want to hide that?
Robert scanned her appearance from head to toe. "You do look like you just woke up, but since you're here, would you be willing to work a double shift today?"
Zoe cringed. A double shift at a job she didn't know anything about. "Alright," she said, despite her reservations. No telling when the Doctor may make his appearance, and she wanted to be here when he arrived. She ignored the doubt wriggling at the back of her mind that he wouldn't come. Or the creeping realization that even if he does come it may be months before he does. Please come, Doctor. Please don't make me wait.
Robert's shoulder slumped dramatically in obvious relief, and a reluctant, amused chuckle escaped her. "Oh, thank you! Have I ever told you, you're my favorite employee?"
"Only a thousand times," Zoe joked, hoping that sounded like something the real Rose would say.
"Get clocked in then. I'm going into the back to tally the inventory. Can I trust you to take care of everything up front?"
Zoe glanced around the unfamiliar shop and smiled. "Yeah. Of course."
"Love the American accent by the way. Practicing for a play or something?" Robert asked without waiting for an answer, already moving through the Employees Only door to the backroom. "Almost sounds genuine."
"That's because it is genuine," she muttered, but the manager was already gone, the door swishing in his wake.
As Zoe soon learned, Nickie's sells anything and everything from shoes to vintage and luxury clothing. Even then, the number of mannequins in the store made it look like good ol' Nickie has a fetish for plastic. There were at least six well-dressed mannequins in every aisle, and that didn't include the ones she'd seen in in the back or the ones she assumed were down in the basement. No wonder the Nestene Consciousness set up a relay device here of all places — a dormant army of mannequins were on standby.
While she waited for the Doctor to appear - she really hoped she wouldn't have to wait months for him to show up. Please, please show up tonight, Doctor.
Zoe tried to keep a healthy distance from the mannequins, but it proved difficult when she had to pass them every few minutes, walking around the store in an effort to look busy. Any second the Nestene Consciousness could begin transmitting its signal through the relay device and convert the mannequins into living plastic. Autons ordered to kill and use their hands for weapons.
When she wasn't assisting customers, she passed the time pacing, thoughts fighting for dominance between what happened to August and what it meant to wake up and find herself in Rose's shoes. Literally. Her toes were currently squashed unhappily in Rose's one-size-too-small-for-her black work shoes. Even now, folding a wayward Hawaiian shirt and keeping a wary eye on a nearby mannequin wearing a gorgeous red dress as if it would leap at her…plastic lips stretching open to eat her whole…
She shook the image away with a shudder but didn't let the mannequin out of sight.
No. Even now, staring down the life-size doll, she still half-hoped she was dreaming. That this would all be a nightmare, and she'd wake up on her ugly plaid couch with a crick in her neck and terrible back pain. That'd be preferable to this. One appointment with a chiropractor and life would continue as usual. She'd stop by August's and hug him, tell him how much he means to her. She'd call Mads and go to one of those fancy art shows she loves so much. If it meant being back home, she could pretend to enjoy modern...art. She wasn't sure how a toilet seat glued to a trashcan lid could be considered art, but her friend had insisted it was a statement. A statement of what, she could never tell.
While she loved the idea of meeting the Doctor, she couldn't accept the reason behind getting to meet him. Somehow, her appearance in this world had displaced Rose, and that filled her with no end of guilt, even though she has no idea how this all happened in the first place. Jackie didn't even realize her daughter was missing, because she was convinced Zoe was her daughter. She still hadn't wrapped her mind around that little tidbit.
She felt bad for it, but she was placing all her hope in the Doctor on figuring it out. If anyone can solve this mess, it's him. Again the desperate hope he would come today, not later shot through her. Please come.
Though it was a slow day, people popping in and out once or twice in a three-hour window, the day went by fast with her mind so thoroughly occupied with her predicament. That and the constant paranoia the mannequins would attack her at any moment. By the end of the second shift, she had developed a twitch, jumping at any sign of movement in her peripheral vision. Honestly, it was a good thing Robert had gone home an hour early, leaving her in charge of closing. She didn't want anyone else to be here if — when — they do attack.
"Thank you for shopping with Nickie's," she said tiredly, holding out change from the register to the last customer for the night. Lucky for her, she had worked as a cashier at Barnes and Noble for a year, so it only took a couple of transactions to remember how to work the cash register. Not so lucky for her, she had no idea how to count European currency.
An irritated woman with dark curls and pointed nose glared at the change in her hand as if it offended her. "That's not the right amount. You've got the coins mixed up."
At Zoe's blank look, she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like stupid Yankees and leaned over the cash register, getting into her personal space. She yanked out a couple of coins from the register. "I've got it," she said. "You can put that back."
Not wanting to make a big issue out of it, Zoe just mumbled, "Thanks," and poured the wrong coins back into their designated slots.
"So when did you arrive in London?" the woman asked, not unkindly. "You must not have been here long."
Zoe shrugged and forced a grin. "That obvious, huh?"
"Very," she said, before smiling back and holding out her hand. "I'm Victoria, by the way. You can call me Vicky for short."
She shook the woman's hand. "Nice to meet you, Vicky. I'm…Zoe," she said, after a moment's hesitation. To those who don't know Rose, she wanted to be known as herself.
"But, your name tag says Rose."
Zoe glanced down at her shiny name tag and wrinkled her nose. "Huh. That's weird," she said, and removed the name tag for good measure, placing Rose's name plate face down on the front desk.
Vicky laughed at her expression. "You're an odd one. Hey, if you're new to London, maybe you'd like to hang out with me and my friends this weekend. We could show you the sights and maybe hang at a great bar downtown."
A genuine smile appeared on Zoe's face at the invitation. If she's here for a while yet, making friends might go a long way to helping her feel more like herself. In a way, Vicky reminded of her Mads. It was the way she smiled, a sort of wicked gleam in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say she'd love to, but froze, wide eyes honing in on the movement she sensed toward the front of the store.
Like a scene right out of an indie horror movie, all of the mannequins' heads slowly twisted around until their pale, vacant expressions pointed toward the only two people left in the store.
The sight left her mouth dry, as adrenaline sent a thrill of fear coursing through her. This is it. This is really happening. Creepy, murderous mannequin dolls moving on their own.
This is like Annabelle, Chuckie, and Goosebump's Slappy come to life, but so much worst, because this was actually happening. It was at this moment, Zoe realized what waking up in the Doctor's world really meant. Aliens, monsters, and robots are real here. It wasn't just going to be mini-adventures tied up in a nice bow. She'd known the mannequins would come to life the moment the Nestene Consciousness sent its signal. She'd been waiting for it, hoping for it even, because it meant the Doctor would be just one step behind. But coming face-to-face with animated mannequins — Autons. They're called Autons, she reminded herself distantly — was a shock to her system. Any hope she was dreaming was swiftly thrown to the ground and trampled on. Twice.
"Vicky, I know we've just met," Zoe began slowly, keeping a wary eye on the mannequins, "and you don't have any reason to trust me, but I need you to listen to me right now. Make a run for the exit, and whatever you do, don't look back."
"What? Why?" she asked, looking scandalized by the strange request.
Zoe's heart rate spiked when all of the mannequins on the floor stepped off their platforms as one. "There's no time to explain," she shouted, unknowingly echoing August's words to her. "You just need to get out of here!"
"What are you going on about?" Vicky fumed. "And here I thought we could be friends, but you're trying to play a joke on me."
The Autons were walking towards them now. Despite their slow and uncoordinated movement, Zoe knew it was only a matter of time before the Nestene Consciousness transmitted orders for the mannequins to reveal the guns hidden within their hands.
"It's not a joke," she said, desperate for Vicky to believe her, but the woman wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Her gaze was locked on something behind Zoe; her expression morphing from confusion to horror in less than a few seconds.
"Behind you!" Vicky cried, pointing over Zoe's shoulder.
Zoe's hazel eyes widened in dawning horror, as she turned in time to witness a horde of mannequins spilling through the Employees Only door. She cursed herself. How could she be so careless and forget the stored mannequins in the back room? And why, oh why didn't she even consider locking the spare mannequins up somewhere?
She glanced around wildly for a weapon and lunged for the broom tucked in the corner, just in time to beat a mannequin back. She ran out from behind the counter, brandishing the broom like a sword. "Vicky, get behind me!"
She heard Vicky whimper somewhere off to the side, "Oh, no. Please no," right before she let out a blood-curdling scream that was punctured short by a single gunshot. The abrupt silence that followed rang in Zoe's ears. Too much like the silence after August's call disconnected.
"Vicky," Zoe called out, trying not to read into her lack of response. She jumped out of reach of an approaching Auton, waving the broom around to keep the horde back at a distance, and moved around to the front of the counter. "Vicky!" she cried, stopping short when she saw her could-have-been friend lying face down, curls splayed out across the hardwood floor. An image of Madison lying on the floor, liquid brown eyes open and unseeing shot through her mind, and she forcefully pushed the thought aside.
This wasn't Mads. This was Victoria, and she was dead. Because of her. If Rose had been here, Vicky would have gotten the right amount of change back and would have left without a second glance. Staring at Vicky, she sensed, more than saw, the Autons surround her on all sides, taking advantage of her momentary shock. The same mannequin that shot Vicky was now aiming its hand-gun at her head. Tendrils of smoke still curled from the hand of the Auton that shot her; its plastic fingers pointed down to reveal the barrel hidden within its pale hand.
Zoe yanked her numb gaze away from Vicky's lifeless body to stare down the gun barrel. Her eyes narrowed and mouth tightened in a fierce line. She glared at the mannequin, even as fear coiled in her chest like a tightly wound spring. "You didn't have to kill her," she said. "She wasn't even supposed to be here!"
The Auton shot off its firearm in answer, and Zoe barely ducked in time. Abandoning her broom, she kept herself low to the ground, slipping between their legs until she broke free from the horde. Their heads turned as one in her direction, realizing she was no longer amongst them. Zoe imagined the Nestene Consciousness's outraged astonishment and laughed, a slight crazy trill to the sound, as she ran for the very exit she tried to persuade Vicky to escape through earlier. Her legs felt off-kilter from the adrenaline coursing through them.
Zoe collided against the exit door and yanked at the door handles, but the door wouldn't open no matter how hard she pulled. "It's locked!"
She turned around, so her back braced the exit door on the left, feeling truly trapped for the first time since the attack began. She took in the horde of Autons ambling toward her and realized the number of mannequins had increased during her little sprint for freedom. She had a terrible feeling that the mannequins in the basement were trickling up the stairs and joining the Auton horde. She felt justified at that moment for her fear of dolls growing up. A fear August had insisted she get child therapy for. He insisted she not believe her dolls were sentient creatures of the night almost as fiercely as he'd insisted she stop believing in magic and unicorns.
"Come on, Doctor. Where are you?" she murmured, a desperate edge to her voice.
"And just who's asking?"
Zoe spun around to see the Doctor in his ninth generation, all blue eyes and big ears with his trademark black leather jacket, walk through the adjacent exit door like she hadn't been struggling to open it moments before.
Zoe turned on the Doctor, hazel eyes blazing with relief and irrational anger. She whacked him in the arm. Hard. "You're late!"
"Oi! Do I know you?" he asked, rubbing the spot she hit him, but he couldn't fool her. She saw how his stormy blue eyes gleamed with piqued interest.
"Introductions later. A little busy at the moment," Zoe grunted, yanking on the door handles again. The door shuddered against her effort, still refusing to open for her. "Figures," she muttered. "Let's people in, but doesn't let anyone out."
"Right," the Doctor said, looking at her curiously. Then he clapped his hands and rubbed them together excitedly. "So what am I late for exactly?"
"As if you don't know already," Zoe said exasperated, as she grasped his chin with her hand, turning his head to look at the approaching mob of Autons. Thank goodness they were so slow. "The Nestene Consciousness is bringing mannequins to life and controlling them, but you knew that already, didn't you? Isn't that why you brought," she reached into the Doctor's leather jacket and yanked out the bomb hidden in his inside pocket, "this!"
The Doctor's eyes widened in alarm. "Give that back! You don't know what you're messing with."
"Oh, I know exactly what this is," Zoe said matter-of-factly. "There's a relay device on top of the building sending a signal, and you plan to blow up the store." She waved the bomb under the Doctor's nose. "No signal, no living plastic."
The Doctor snatched it out of her hand and put it carefully back in his pocket. His brow furrowed in, if Zoe had to guess, a mix between suspicion and intrigue. "You're pretty smart for an ape. How do you know all this?" he asked. The casual tone to his voice sounding forced to her ears.
"Can't the explanations wait?" Zoe cried, gesturing frantically to the horde. The mannequins were closing in on them. They only had a few feet left to go before reaching them. This was not the time for her to explain her situation and set the Doctor's mind at ease.
"Right you are," the Doctor said, realizing they were surrounded, but then he grinned and grabbed her hand like she really was Rose Tyler. "Run!"
Zoe knew that the Doctor had to be in great shape and fast to outrun so many monsters in the show, but she didn't know how fast until she found herself being pulled along for the ride. He expertly guided her around the mannequin horde and along the lobby's wall toward the Employees Only door faster than she could keep up. He was half-dragging her with him. Despite the immediate danger, it felt completely surreal. The Doctor in the flesh, holding her hand, and running away with him from aliens that decided emulating blockbuster horror movies starring dolls was a good idea.
Has she mentioned how insane, not to mention terrifying, this all was?
Realizing they were getting away, the horde hastily turned in the direction they were fleeing, but their mechanical movements were too slow to be an immediate threat. Some of the living plastic creatures had a better idea than give chase again. Several gunshots trailed after them, leaving fresh burn marks on the wall where Zoe had been positioned only seconds before. She suspected she had the Doctor to thank for that, as he kept yanking her forward with inhuman strength, so she was clear of the gunshots. She could already feel her hand starting to bruise from his powerful grip, but she wasn't about to complain.
They skidded through the Employees Only door, pushing past the mannequins that lingered in the backroom, and ran straight for the elevator. Never had Zoe been so glad to see an elevator before.
As if expecting them, the elevator doors slid open followed by a clear ding. The Doctor rushed in still dragging an out of breath Zoe behind him. Holding the stitch in her side, she leaned against the wall to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
The Doctor pushed the button for the roof, surprising her. She thought the Doctor would want to send her home before he dealt with the relay device on the roof. He'd sent Rose home in the show right before he blew up her work. Was it because this world was slightly different from the show? There have been some notable differences so far. For instance, no one asked her to give lottery money to anyone, and Robert said they didn't have an electric engineer named Wilson when she had asked about him. She'd gotten an odd look for even asking.
Pushing aside her questions for later, she followed up the Time Lord's floor choice with the Close Doors button, pressing it rapidly until the doors started to slide shut. Now that they seemed to be out of immediate danger, she tried to relax, taking her cue from the Doctor's calm, casual stance and crossed arms. She should have known better.
A mannequin arm shot through the narrow opening between the elevator doors to keep it from closing fully, mere inches from Zoe's face, causing her to let out a startled scream.
The Doctor rushed forward to tug on the arm until it detached from its body with a loud pop. The elevator doors closed and began to rise. The sudden ascent causing her stomach to perform an uncomfortable somersault.
The Doctor smirked and tossed the mannequin's arm to Zoe. Expecting it, she caught the arm easily. She held it at a distance from herself, feeling extremely creeped out by the way its fingers seemed to be reaching for her. She wasn't in the mood to have a plastic arm attack her face, thank you very much.
"Didn't take you for a screamer," he said.
Her cheek's tinged a pretty pink, embarrassed by both the fact she had screamed and at his unintentional innuendo. It was unintentional, right? "I'm not," she denied immediately. "It just startled me is all."
"Sure, it did," the Doctor agreed easily, shooting her a cheeky grin before his expression turned serious. "So, tell me. What's your name?"
"Zoe," she said, no hesitation this time when introducing herself. "Zoe Peyton."
"Well, Zoe Peyton, now is the time for explanations." His vivid blue eyes stared her down. "How do you know me? Somehow, you knew about the relay device and my plan to use a bomb. And somehow you know about the Nestene Consciousness and living plastic." He looked her up and down. "Are you alien?"
Zoe fidgeted with the plastic arm in her hands. Now that he was here, she realized she didn't know where to begin, and a small part of her worried that he wouldn't believe her if she told the truth. Your life is a television show, and today I woke up as your companion, Rose Tyler. Yeah. The truth didn't sound like the explanation of a sane person. But Zoe hated lying and didn't want to start now. It was bad enough she called Jackie Mom. Madison had always said her honesty was her best trait, but would honesty actually help her here? Would he even accept the truth?
The rising tension was punctured by the ding of the elevator announcing their arrival. The cliché phrase saved by the bell flitted through her mind. The elevator doors slid open to reveal a clear night sky, and to her relief, a mannequin-free roof. Cold, crisp air rushed into the elevator, causing goosebumps to ripple down her bare arms.
Not waiting for her answer, the Doctor moved swiftly toward a huge satellite dish set up dead-center on the roof. From the Doctor's intent expression, Zoe surmised it must be the relay device.
How in the world did the Nestene Consciousness, what she knew to be a massive vat of bubbling lava-like liquid, manage to get this on the roof? Even with the help of mannequins, she didn't think they would be capable of getting this up here. And then a more important question occurred to her.
"Doctor," she began hesitantly, as he scanned the device with his sonic screwdriver, which emitted the familiar warbling noise she loved. If their lives weren't in danger, she might have allowed herself to fan-girl a little at seeing it in action.
"Yeah?" he asked, glancing at her once before returning his attention to the relay device. He took out the bomb from his inside jacket pocket and began to attach it to the base, using his sonic screwdriver to set it up.
"If it's important to their plans, why would the Nestene Consciousness leave the relay device unguarded?"
The Doctor's brow furrowed in thought. "That's actually a very good question. Probably didn't think you humans could do anything to stop them. Didn't expect me, did they? Ha. Big mistake," he said arrogantly. "Must have taken a lot of effort to get up here in the first place though. Automatons, er, the mannequins I mean, aren't known for their strength or coordinated movements. It's a wonder they got this up here at all."
The Doctor continued to rattle off information while he worked, but Zoe had stopped listening, her attention drawn to the plastic arm suddenly twisting and turning in her grip. She tightened her hold on it, unwilling to let it escape and attack either her or the Doctor, but the arm only increased its struggle, jerking violently until it ripped free from her grasp. Instead of latching onto her face like she feared, it flipped over her shoulder…
And she felt a sudden unnatural wind lashing at her back. A distinct odor of burning plastic irritated her nose, and the terrifying sounds of something ripping and tearing raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
The Doctor cut off mid-ramble, his attention caught by whatever was happening behind her, and fear trickled down her spine at his expression. Whatever could inspire a look torn between horror and surprise on his face scared her. He smoothed his features over though, most likely for her benefit, and masterfully hid them beneath a calm facade. If she hadn't been watching him closely, she wouldn't have known any better.
With one last electric warble of the sonic screwdriver, the Time Lord scrambled urgently to his feet and held out his hand for her to take. "Zoe, get behind me. Now."
She didn't have to be told twice. She reached for his hand and was surprised when he snatched her offered hand, yanking her behind him forcefully. She stumbled into his back and backed up a couple of steps to put a respectable distance between them. She shouldn't have bothered. The moment she saw what exactly had been going on directly behind her, she closed the distance between them again and squeezed the Doctor's hand in a death grip.
She watched wide-eyed, as mannequin body parts flew up the staircase and through an open door near the elevator she hadn't noticed earlier. Then again, the Doctor must not have seen the door either. Otherwise, she was sure he would have locked it with his sonic screwdriver to prevent something like this very thing from happening.
Forming in the midst of a whirlwind of flying mannequin heads, torsos, legs, and arms was a giant plastic monstrosity. The mannequin body parts were colliding together before fusing with each other to create the giant Auton in front of her. It looked like an ogre and troll had a baby, and it was made of melted plastic. There were gaping holes where the eyes were meant to be, and any doubts about whether it had a mouth were silenced when the creature's face split open and it roared. Spit and plastic flecks sprayed down on them like acid rain.
Well, Zoe thought dryly, that explains how the Nestene Consciousness got a relay device on the roof.
"Right. Didn't expect that," the Doctor muttered before yelling for the second time that night, "Run!"
He pulled her by the hand toward the ledge. Zoe glanced over her shoulder in time to see the monster swipe at the spot they'd been standing just seconds before, its fist grasping air.
"Doctor, we're going the wrong way," Zoe pointed out, gasping for breath in between words and just doing her best to keep up with the Time Lord's manic pace. Reading books all the time is not conducive to keeping a woman in shape. "The elevator's back there."
"That's because we're not taking the elevator," he said.
"Then how are we -"
She never got to finish her question, because the Doctor suddenly released her hand, and without a second look at her, jumped over the side of the building, disappearing over the ledge in a flash of black leather. All thoughts of the Auton monster chasing them across the rooftop fled her mind.
"Doctor!" she shrieked and rushed forward to the roof's edge, fearing for his life. Before she could look over the ledge, the Doctor's head popped up, startling her into screaming again for the second time that night. She noticed with relief and a tinge of annoyance that he was standing perfectly safe on a fire escape.
"Come on. We don't have all day!" the Doctor ordered. He jutted his chin at something behind her meaningfully, and Zoe remembered the reason they'd been running in the first place. Her eyes widened at seeing the monster charging towards her, faster than she would have thought possible for an entity made up of fused mannequin parts. The building rattled from each heavy, pounding step.
The Doctor made an impatient sound and grabbed her hand again to pull her over the ledge. A small shriek escaped her at the sudden sensation of falling, but the Doctor caught her around the waist to ease her onto her feet.
"Hurry!" he ordered, leading the way down the fire escape stairwell. "We're running out of time."
"Running out of time before what?" she asked, but he didn't answer her. He seemed to be counting under his breath.
The Doctor stopped suddenly two flights down, causing Zoe to crash into his back. He turned and grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her. "Time's up," he said. With his hands still locked onto her shoulders, he gazed intently into her hazel green eyes. "Zoe, I know we just met, and you seem to know me. But, do you trust me?"
"With my life," she said without hesitation, sounding a bit breathless from all the running.
His vivid blue eyes widened in surprise and what might have been wonder. Another roar ripped through the air above them, and the Doctor's expression snapped back to business. "Good, because I'm about to do this." He pulled her roughly against his solid chest and wrapped his arms securely around her before turning and leaping off the fire escape. He shifted his weight mid-air, so his body would be underneath her, as they hurtled toward the dark pavement below together.
Please take the time to review. Did you like it? Hate it? Your reviews are my weekly sustenance. Without them, I'll starve. Starve, I tell you. You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you? Would you?!
*clears throat and takes a deep, calming breath*
Now for the question of the week, tell me your deepest, darkest secret. Just kidding.
Instead, riddle me this...
If you had a millionaire dollars, what would you do with it?
I would throw money in the air, dance in it, swim it, and bathe in it. Okay, not really, but...
I would use the money to buy my family a small house, set my daughter up for success with the best education money could buy for a three-year-old, and invest the rest of the money. Despite all appearances to the contrary, I'm reasonable like that.