“But…” Tara sighed when her mother wouldn’t let her get a word in edgewise. She juggled the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she stooped down to rummage through her fridge. Left over pasta or two-day-old pizza? She grimaced at the shriveled choices before her and then cautiously edged the crisper drawer open, shuddering when she caught a glimpse of the contents. “Nothing crispy about that…uh, yeah Mom, I’m listening. Uh-huh…every word, but…” She stifled a groan and chose the lesser of two evils, popping the lasagna into the microwave.
Hitching herself up onto the kitchen counter, she gazed at the clock in consternation. 45 minutes! No wonder she was starved. After a late breakfast and an apple for lunch she’d worked an hour’s overtime before driving home. About to call in Chinese takeout, she answered the phone before checking call display and now, nearly an hour later, her mother was in one of her talkative moods.
The ping of the microwave interrupted her the latest torrent of words and Tara hastily leapt in. “Like I said, Mom, I’ll think about it, but right now I have to…”
She sighed when her mother refused to let her off that easy. A litany of dire warnings, a well-aimed guilt trip and the parting threat of a dastardly curse had her pinky promising. Only then did her mother end the phone call with her standard, “You always were a good girl, Tara. Love you to bits,” before she hung up.
It came as no surprise that while she had been otherwise occupied the lasagna had turned to rubber – an unappetizing blob that identically resembled the puke her cat, Dixie had barfed up right before she keeled over and died.
“Definitely inedible,” she declared, tossing the tray into the garbage can while her stomach growled a protest. She patted it reassuringly. “Don’t worry we still have oatmeal,” and started the fixings.
There was something soothing about eating breakfast food at dinnertime. She savored the cinnamony taste of the hot cereal and munched contentedly on a crisp piece of raisin toast....well, as contented as she could be given her mother’s final ultimatum.
It was time. She had known it for weeks. She felt the pull every night now when she came home from work. Regardless of how exhausted she was it was there, demanding an audience. Time was running out. Her birthday was in three weeks. The big 3-0. A landmark year worth celebrating. She knew Lucy and Sue were planning a surprise party. She snorted in amusement -- and they thought Sue was the only one who could read lips. Tara was getting pretty good at picking up the odd phrase here and there…things like “Shhh, she’s coming.” And “Surprise party,’ and “Secrets.” It was sweet of them and she would be suitably surprised when the time came – provided her atoms hadn’t been scattered to the four winds on the stroke of midnight on the eve of her birth, as the prophecy proclaimed.
She glanced up at her hallway closet and suddenly the bowl of oatmeal she’d just snarfed down felt like a lead weight in her belly. Pushing her chair out from the table she stood and walked briskly to the closet. Pulling the door ajar she glanced inside the murky depths and blindly groped for the battered box she knew was stashed at the very back. Her hands closed over it easily and she staggered backwards under the surprising weight of it. She teetered over to the couch and plunked the box down, staring at it suspiciously. She hadn’t lifted the lid once since her mother had sent the box to her seven years ago. She didn’t have to look, she knew what was inside and the power that it held over her…and all the Williams’ women for as far back as anyone could remember.
Tipping the lid open cautiously, she peeked inside. It was there, in all its resplendent glory. A family heirloom, it had been past down from mother to daughter for centuries. Now it was her turn with the ‘recipe book’ as her mother laughingly referred to it.
It was all well and good for her mother to be irreverent about it. She’d done her time and survived, cheerfully thrusting the familial obligation onto her daughter when she left home to come work in DC. She’d been nagging her ever since.
“Have you tried any of the recipes, dear?”
“You might find page 48 helpful with that little problem, darling, just give it a try.”
“Nothing to it, sweetie, once you get the hang of it. Try 21. It’s scrumptious…”
Her mother thought it was cute the way she used cooking terminology to describe the contents of the book.
“Cooking!” Tara scoffed. “If you like cooking up trouble.”
She gazed morosely at the object of her angst, childishly making a face at it as she sullenly turned to the table of contents and skimmed down the line of odd recipes. Page 21 caught her eye. Love Potion Pie. Curious in spite of her self, she ruffled through the pages and scanned the ingredients quickly.
Ugh. She shuddered. And people actually ate this stuff? Still, she supposed the lovelorn would stoop to anything to change their solitary fate. It was a sad fact of life – especially for women. There just weren’t enough commitment minded guys out there. She had first hand knowledge on that score. She gazed at the ingredient list again and then committed the instructions to heart, grimacing when she caught the twist in the last sentence.
“Of course you can’t make it for yourself. That’s against the rules,” she muttered and wrinkled her nose in distaste and then read the last line out loud. “Though a ripple effect is a common occurrence and it is often to the benefit of the ‘cook’.”
She leafed back to the forward, which contained the curse in gruesome detail. All manner of hideous things would happen to the Williams’ heir who did not attempt at least one potion recipe from the book before her 30th birthday.
“Just peachy keen and groovy,” she mumbled to herself as she studied Love Potion on page 21 again. "Everyone else I know gets handed down tried and true recipes for pot roast and matrimony cake while I get handed a book of spells with a curse. Next thing you know Mother’s going to send me a broom and a black cat.”
She glumly perused the book but kept coming back to page 21. The book was like that, she’d been told. It picked the perfect spell for the first time potion maker. It was best to go with the book’s gut instinct, rather than your own. Grandma Williams given that advice years ago.
So Love Potion it was…but who would be the most likely candidates for her first foray into the family's secret hobby?
Steve. Steve would be the perfect candidate. She and Steve had been dating for the past few months, and smiling, Tara thought to herself, "Finally, someone who makes me happy." Funny, smart, outgoing, he was a lovely boyfriend…too bad his name didn’t begin with “B” instead of “S”. Chuckling over “Beve”, Tara stood up, clutching the book, and headed back into her kitchen.
As she opened her refridgerator, she pondered: “Who should I give the pie to?”
Sue and Jack? Nah. Although they were cute to watch and she was absolutely dying to match them up, she knew that they belonged to Lucy. Hmm… Lucy?
Nah. Lucy was floating by on a lovely raft of love, touring the many wonders to behold. It was a pleasure just to watch her immerse herself in her own frivolity. No, Tara wouldn’t try to ruin that by accident.
Which left….the person who needed love the most, the person who deserved it, who wanted something more than the odd toy to play with…. Levi!! But who to partner him with?
“Wait!” Tara exclaimed, suddenly filled with gleeful anticipation, “Didn’t Sue mention a hearing dog named Katie once? It’s a match-made-in-heaven….well, doggie heaven!” Squealing with laughter and happy thoughts, Tara raced around her kitchen, eager to have the recipe done by the next morning.
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Well, my first attempt EVER at a Sue-Thomas fanfic is well on its way! Knowing myself all too well, I made sure that I had the whole fanfic plotted out before I began writing, so I can guarantee that there will be an ending (and hopefully a good one!)
Unfortunately, I'm off for a vacation starting tomorrow morning. I'll try my best to have this written in time for the deadline, and on that note, I'm very sorry if I don't!
Any thoughts? This will certainly be a page turner...though it doesn't seem like one at the moment.
Full Version: Option #7 - Recipe for Happiness - Stollhofen
RomanceFanFiction.net > The Highlights - A Place To Start > Seasonal/Holiday Challenges > 2007 Seasonal/Holiday Challenges > Cookin' Up Summer Challenge 2007
Levi? Now, there's a character I wasn't expecting. You're right. He does deserve a love interest of his own and there should be no problem getting him to eat the pie~ 
A little love for Levi! I'm sure he'll love the pie and I can't wait to see what happens next!
Take care,
Sairs
Take care,
Sairs
levi and katie?
i love the idea
have a great vacation
cath
i love the idea
have a great vacation
cath
hehe doggy love and um Tara Bece - think you are getting fuzzy brain and your heart is taking iver it knows you want bobbhy
THE NEXT DAY 11:00 A.M.
Hot. It was hot. It was very hot. Heat sweltered through the office, as one by one the seconds ticked by. The clock just couldn’t move any faster. “What time is it?” Tara muttered softly, slowly lifting her head up from her keyboard. Checking her watch, she found it was lunch time.
“Time for a break!” she announced, but to her surprise, no one answer. Peering out around her computer screen, she found each of her co-workers in various sleeping positions.
Myles was reclined in his chair, looking rather peaceful for once, and Tara chuckled mildy to herself, that she wished she had her camera. Jack was asleep head first on his desk, snoring softly into the pile of papers on his desk. D was in a similar position to that of Myles, but was sweating far more than anyone else. Rolling her eyes, Tara noted that Jack had courteously moved the one fan in the room to behind Sue’s desk, so that she could have maximum benefit, to D’s disadvantage. Lucy and Sue were no where to be found, so Tara assumed that they’d already left for lunch.
And Bobby. Resting her chin on one hand, Tara soon found her self calmly staring at Bobby. Bobby had chosen a different approach; Having slid down the side of his desk, he now slept with his back propped up against the side of it, his feet carelessly stretched out over the carpet. She noticed with delight that his head was tilted softly to one side, leaving ample room on the one shoulder.
She would make sure that no one was watching, that no one was waking. Then she would tiptoe carefully across the carpet space until she was standing in front of his running-shoe clad feet. She’d sink down to his level, and place her own back against his desk. She’d slowly tilt her head to one side, until her ear was centimetres above his shoulder. She’d place her head beside his. Reaching down, she would watch as her fingers slowly entangled themselves inside his and—
“Tara.” Startled by the soft whisper on her shoulder, waking her from her daydream, Tara’s head snapped up from its spot on her hand, where it had just been resting. Her head recklessly smacked into the lamp stretching over her computer screen. Wincing with pain, Tara turned her head and saw Steve standing beside her desk, holding out one hand in the position of a “tap” and the other holding a basket. Half-smiling, half-cringing, Tara slowly placed her finger over her lips, chuckled, and carefully stood up. Steve placed his hand under her arm to support her, as she attempted to noiselessly remove herself from her desk. Once out of the chair’s way, Tara turned to Steve and smiled. Removing her hand from her head, she snaked it and her other one around her boyfriend’s neck, sighed, and slowly pressed her lips to his. The kiss was a peck, quick, and ended shortly, and soon the couple entangled their hands. Steve brought his hands up, chest high, and slowly began to sign: Good morning, beautiful lady.
Tara blushed at the sign of affection, and knowing that he was simply putting on airs, checked her hair in the mirror by her desk. Half of the hair was partly smushed against the side of her head, and her check held the imprints of: PLOKIJ. Sighing, she vigorously rubbed her hand, praying that the letters wouldn’t be permanently indented in her skin.
Good morning to you too, she signed back. Steve was amazing. There was no doubt about it. Dating for only a few months, he was already the man of her dreams. He picked her up and drove her, whether or not her car was broken. He gave her presents, regardless of occasion. He was polite and courteous to her friends. He even learned sign language, and eagerly joined Sue’s deaf club for reading. Amazing could barely describe the difference he had made in her life. And still, he was a Steve, not a “Beve”. Sighing softly, Tara laced her fingers through his, and began to gently steer him towards the door.
Shaking his head, Steve un-entwined their digits. With a mischevious smile on his face, he lifted up the wicker basket dangling from his one hand. He reached inside and pulled out a waterbottle. Wrinkling her nose with confusion, Tara reached pushed her own hand inside the basket and withdrew two more.
It’s hot, Steve signed, smiling at his own irony. Tara, finally realizing, smiled as well, and reached inside the basket for more bottles. Wordlessly, the two set about delivering the various waterbottles to the co-workers desks. Tara knelt before Bobby and placed the waterbottle beside his lap. She knelt there, staring at Bobby’s dimpled face, feeling the heat of his breath radiate of her skin. Slowly but surely, she reached out her hand to touch his, when she felt a strong hand on her back. She sighed, picking up the empty basket, and turned to face Steve.
Time for lunch. You coming? Steve looked excited. He always picked a different restaurant every time they went out for lunch, and knowing him, he’d probably chosen something exotic and fun. Nodding, she gently pushed him out in the hallway. Just getting my purse, she signed. Meet you in the car. Steve slowly backed out of the office, his finger pressed tightly to his lips, and ducked out through the door.
Tara reached behind her desk to find her purple purse lying discarded by her waste paper basket. She picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder, and simply stood there, watching the scene unfold before her. Bobby was moving. She watched patiently as his left hand went up to his cheek to scratch for a moment, before returning peacefully to his other hand in his lap. Checking over her shoulder to make sure that Steve wasn’t coming back, Tara darted forward eagerly to Bobby’s figure. This time with no hesitation, she placed her own hand on top of Bobby’s. She silently curled the third and fourth fingers under the palm, and removed the thumb. Softly smiling to herself, Tara, pleased with her handiwork, skipped to the doorway. Pausing with contempt, she looked once more at Bobby’s hands.
“If only,” she whispered before slipping out the door. Like wind, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that she was there today. Everything was neat and tidy on her desk, immaculately organized by Bobby one bored afternoon. Like air, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that she had encountered Steve today, or that he’d taken her out to lunch. Like a girlfriend, she had wordlessly left, but like someone’s love, she had left the largest sound behind. For as Tara sneaked out of the office, Bobby cracked open one eyelid. And gazing down at his hands formed in the greatest sign, a ripple had begun.
Hot. It was hot. It was very hot. Heat sweltered through the office, as one by one the seconds ticked by. The clock just couldn’t move any faster. “What time is it?” Tara muttered softly, slowly lifting her head up from her keyboard. Checking her watch, she found it was lunch time.
“Time for a break!” she announced, but to her surprise, no one answer. Peering out around her computer screen, she found each of her co-workers in various sleeping positions.
Myles was reclined in his chair, looking rather peaceful for once, and Tara chuckled mildy to herself, that she wished she had her camera. Jack was asleep head first on his desk, snoring softly into the pile of papers on his desk. D was in a similar position to that of Myles, but was sweating far more than anyone else. Rolling her eyes, Tara noted that Jack had courteously moved the one fan in the room to behind Sue’s desk, so that she could have maximum benefit, to D’s disadvantage. Lucy and Sue were no where to be found, so Tara assumed that they’d already left for lunch.
And Bobby. Resting her chin on one hand, Tara soon found her self calmly staring at Bobby. Bobby had chosen a different approach; Having slid down the side of his desk, he now slept with his back propped up against the side of it, his feet carelessly stretched out over the carpet. She noticed with delight that his head was tilted softly to one side, leaving ample room on the one shoulder.
She would make sure that no one was watching, that no one was waking. Then she would tiptoe carefully across the carpet space until she was standing in front of his running-shoe clad feet. She’d sink down to his level, and place her own back against his desk. She’d slowly tilt her head to one side, until her ear was centimetres above his shoulder. She’d place her head beside his. Reaching down, she would watch as her fingers slowly entangled themselves inside his and—
“Tara.” Startled by the soft whisper on her shoulder, waking her from her daydream, Tara’s head snapped up from its spot on her hand, where it had just been resting. Her head recklessly smacked into the lamp stretching over her computer screen. Wincing with pain, Tara turned her head and saw Steve standing beside her desk, holding out one hand in the position of a “tap” and the other holding a basket. Half-smiling, half-cringing, Tara slowly placed her finger over her lips, chuckled, and carefully stood up. Steve placed his hand under her arm to support her, as she attempted to noiselessly remove herself from her desk. Once out of the chair’s way, Tara turned to Steve and smiled. Removing her hand from her head, she snaked it and her other one around her boyfriend’s neck, sighed, and slowly pressed her lips to his. The kiss was a peck, quick, and ended shortly, and soon the couple entangled their hands. Steve brought his hands up, chest high, and slowly began to sign: Good morning, beautiful lady.
Tara blushed at the sign of affection, and knowing that he was simply putting on airs, checked her hair in the mirror by her desk. Half of the hair was partly smushed against the side of her head, and her check held the imprints of: PLOKIJ. Sighing, she vigorously rubbed her hand, praying that the letters wouldn’t be permanently indented in her skin.
Good morning to you too, she signed back. Steve was amazing. There was no doubt about it. Dating for only a few months, he was already the man of her dreams. He picked her up and drove her, whether or not her car was broken. He gave her presents, regardless of occasion. He was polite and courteous to her friends. He even learned sign language, and eagerly joined Sue’s deaf club for reading. Amazing could barely describe the difference he had made in her life. And still, he was a Steve, not a “Beve”. Sighing softly, Tara laced her fingers through his, and began to gently steer him towards the door.
Shaking his head, Steve un-entwined their digits. With a mischevious smile on his face, he lifted up the wicker basket dangling from his one hand. He reached inside and pulled out a waterbottle. Wrinkling her nose with confusion, Tara reached pushed her own hand inside the basket and withdrew two more.
It’s hot, Steve signed, smiling at his own irony. Tara, finally realizing, smiled as well, and reached inside the basket for more bottles. Wordlessly, the two set about delivering the various waterbottles to the co-workers desks. Tara knelt before Bobby and placed the waterbottle beside his lap. She knelt there, staring at Bobby’s dimpled face, feeling the heat of his breath radiate of her skin. Slowly but surely, she reached out her hand to touch his, when she felt a strong hand on her back. She sighed, picking up the empty basket, and turned to face Steve.
Time for lunch. You coming? Steve looked excited. He always picked a different restaurant every time they went out for lunch, and knowing him, he’d probably chosen something exotic and fun. Nodding, she gently pushed him out in the hallway. Just getting my purse, she signed. Meet you in the car. Steve slowly backed out of the office, his finger pressed tightly to his lips, and ducked out through the door.
Tara reached behind her desk to find her purple purse lying discarded by her waste paper basket. She picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder, and simply stood there, watching the scene unfold before her. Bobby was moving. She watched patiently as his left hand went up to his cheek to scratch for a moment, before returning peacefully to his other hand in his lap. Checking over her shoulder to make sure that Steve wasn’t coming back, Tara darted forward eagerly to Bobby’s figure. This time with no hesitation, she placed her own hand on top of Bobby’s. She silently curled the third and fourth fingers under the palm, and removed the thumb. Softly smiling to herself, Tara, pleased with her handiwork, skipped to the doorway. Pausing with contempt, she looked once more at Bobby’s hands.
“If only,” she whispered before slipping out the door. Like wind, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that she was there today. Everything was neat and tidy on her desk, immaculately organized by Bobby one bored afternoon. Like air, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that she had encountered Steve today, or that he’d taken her out to lunch. Like a girlfriend, she had wordlessly left, but like someone’s love, she had left the largest sound behind. For as Tara sneaked out of the office, Bobby cracked open one eyelid. And gazing down at his hands formed in the greatest sign, a ripple had begun.
That was great! I loved the "sign"! The details you worked in were wonderful, too.
Great story! Just caught up and I LOVE IT so far, keep it up and post again soon!!! 
Great start!
I caught up! 
Awesome start! Levi and Kaie? That is a cute idea!
Hmm, this Steven guy sounds really nice, but for some reason I'm getting the vibe that Tara is not as happy as she wished herself to be.
More soon please
Awesome start! Levi and Kaie? That is a cute idea!
Hmm, this Steven guy sounds really nice, but for some reason I'm getting the vibe that Tara is not as happy as she wished herself to be.
More soon please
Seems like Steve is at a bit of a disadvantage in this relationship, seeing as how he's not Bobby! Great start---very original scenario!
Unfortunately, this will be my last post until the 2nd week of August, and I won't have any computer access, so I'm worrying about how I'll finish this before the contest ends. Even though the story is only two days long, it sure will take a long time to write.
Enjoy!
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After a surprising, yet amazing, picnic lunch in the park, Steve had volunteered to drive Tara back to her apartment to pick up her “secret package”. Respecting her wishes to keep it a secret, Steve had waited patiently in the car as Tara dashed inside to pick up her cake packages. She had silently placed one of the neatly wrapped packages on the dashboard, and told him to wait until that night to open it.
Tara had returned to the office, feeling fully refreshed, and had ceremoniously placed the two leftover cake packages on Sue’s desk. Labelled specifically, “Katie” and “Levi”, attached with a simple love note for both, the pieces had looked simply delectable. The team had still been asleep when she returned, so Tara had wordlessly picked up her laptop, and had worked away the rest of her paperwork in the conference room. At 5:00, she jumped in the office to grab her purse to leave, but stopped, pausing inside the doorframe. For some reason, her entire team had slept away the day.
“What kept them awake last night?” Tara muttered to herself, leaning softly against the frame.
“Probably that party they keep whispering about,” she said, shaking her head slowly with a smile glassed on her face as she tried to imagine Myles blowing up a balloon.
She let her eyes wander around the room until they settled on Bobby. In the same position as he was before, maybe a little more slumped down on the side of the desk, he looked positively adorable. Allowing her eyes to wander about his many features, Tara suddenly let out a small gasp as her pupils fell on his hands, still placed in his lap. His right hand still bore the sign she had formed there, but his left hand was now on top of his left, bearing a sign of its own. Wishing that her heart wasn’t torn between the two men, she mused in her head how she would’ve reacted to see her own initial placed over the “I L Y” sign. If she’d been his, really and truly his, would she have squealed and jumped up and down like a bouncing school girl? Or would she have wordlessly placed her hands in the same position, substituting the “T” for a “B”.
Choosing the latter, Tara formed her hands to make the forever statement, and blew a forlorn kiss to rest precariously above Bobby’s lips. She let herself pause only a moment longer before retreating out of the office. And as the last shred of her presence exited the room, the kiss dropped itself onto Bobby’s lips, and lingered there for a moment. Then, almost by magic, the fan rotated in Bobby’s direction, and the kiss blew away.
Tara chose to walk the long distance home, enjoying the warm air that had somewhat cooled over the day. Reaching her home, she went about her daily routine, busying herself with needless chores, to keep her mind from wandering to her foolish actions in the office today.
“You love Bobby, but you’re with Steve, remember?” she said to herself, somehow wishing that the beginning of the two statements could be engraved on her hand, like Harry Potter. And with a sad smile, she remembered the words that he had carved into his flesh, the words that no matter how long the time would last, would still be remembered: I must not tell lies. For that was exactly what the latter statement was. A lie.
“Oh, Bobby, now what do I do?” She padded into her bedroom and began to get undressed.
Steve was a special guy. He really was. But if she jumped off forever with him, they’d simply land on the ground, secure, plain and simple. But if she jumped of with Bobby….wow…what a ride that’d be. With Bobby, you’d run of the edge of a cliff, and dive into oblivion, just to feel the rush of life through you. With Bobby, you could simply soar above the clouds, attached only by clasping each others thumbs, creating the perfect butterfly with their hands, and although you’d feel afraid, all you’d have to do is look down at your enclosed hands and feel a surge of hope.
Sinking slowly onto the pillows on her bed, Tara bundled herself in her covers. Feeling quite content, she slipped her hand under her pillow and removed the tie from underneath her pillow. Decorated with a computer screen pattern, it had been Bobby’s, until he had left it on his desk one day when he left for lunch, and Tara had nonchalantly snatched it from its spot. Bobby had never asked where it went, and Tara had never offered it back. Now, lying in her safety, Tara brought the tie to her nose, and slowly enhaled the essence of Bobby. Suffocating her lungs with his everything, she sighed, feeling at peace, at last, after the long day.
She let her mind wander, and found herself thinking of how nice it would be to lie with Bobby. In the snow. On a March morning. At 5 a.m. And thinking how amazing it would be, through layers of clothing and emotional barriers, they could lay side by side, not even touching, and Tara would see his name spelled out in the stars. She’d feel his heartbeat not-completely-in-synch with his, and she’d fall asleep under the black velvet of night.
Wow….plain and simple.
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Just a side note: The reference to lying in the snow was inspired by a scenario from a fanfiction entitled "The Werewolf Who Stole Christmas".
She turned to Remus, raising her eyebrows at him and grinning. “A picnic?” she said, incredulously.
“Yes.”
“In February?” she said.
“Yes.”
“At midnight?”
“Yes,” he said, returning her grin with interest. “I like a challenge.”
“A challenge?”
“Well,” he said, “any idiot can do it on a warm afternoon in August.”
Enjoy!
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After a surprising, yet amazing, picnic lunch in the park, Steve had volunteered to drive Tara back to her apartment to pick up her “secret package”. Respecting her wishes to keep it a secret, Steve had waited patiently in the car as Tara dashed inside to pick up her cake packages. She had silently placed one of the neatly wrapped packages on the dashboard, and told him to wait until that night to open it.
Tara had returned to the office, feeling fully refreshed, and had ceremoniously placed the two leftover cake packages on Sue’s desk. Labelled specifically, “Katie” and “Levi”, attached with a simple love note for both, the pieces had looked simply delectable. The team had still been asleep when she returned, so Tara had wordlessly picked up her laptop, and had worked away the rest of her paperwork in the conference room. At 5:00, she jumped in the office to grab her purse to leave, but stopped, pausing inside the doorframe. For some reason, her entire team had slept away the day.
“What kept them awake last night?” Tara muttered to herself, leaning softly against the frame.
“Probably that party they keep whispering about,” she said, shaking her head slowly with a smile glassed on her face as she tried to imagine Myles blowing up a balloon.
She let her eyes wander around the room until they settled on Bobby. In the same position as he was before, maybe a little more slumped down on the side of the desk, he looked positively adorable. Allowing her eyes to wander about his many features, Tara suddenly let out a small gasp as her pupils fell on his hands, still placed in his lap. His right hand still bore the sign she had formed there, but his left hand was now on top of his left, bearing a sign of its own. Wishing that her heart wasn’t torn between the two men, she mused in her head how she would’ve reacted to see her own initial placed over the “I L Y” sign. If she’d been his, really and truly his, would she have squealed and jumped up and down like a bouncing school girl? Or would she have wordlessly placed her hands in the same position, substituting the “T” for a “B”.
Choosing the latter, Tara formed her hands to make the forever statement, and blew a forlorn kiss to rest precariously above Bobby’s lips. She let herself pause only a moment longer before retreating out of the office. And as the last shred of her presence exited the room, the kiss dropped itself onto Bobby’s lips, and lingered there for a moment. Then, almost by magic, the fan rotated in Bobby’s direction, and the kiss blew away.
Tara chose to walk the long distance home, enjoying the warm air that had somewhat cooled over the day. Reaching her home, she went about her daily routine, busying herself with needless chores, to keep her mind from wandering to her foolish actions in the office today.
“You love Bobby, but you’re with Steve, remember?” she said to herself, somehow wishing that the beginning of the two statements could be engraved on her hand, like Harry Potter. And with a sad smile, she remembered the words that he had carved into his flesh, the words that no matter how long the time would last, would still be remembered: I must not tell lies. For that was exactly what the latter statement was. A lie.
“Oh, Bobby, now what do I do?” She padded into her bedroom and began to get undressed.
Steve was a special guy. He really was. But if she jumped off forever with him, they’d simply land on the ground, secure, plain and simple. But if she jumped of with Bobby….wow…what a ride that’d be. With Bobby, you’d run of the edge of a cliff, and dive into oblivion, just to feel the rush of life through you. With Bobby, you could simply soar above the clouds, attached only by clasping each others thumbs, creating the perfect butterfly with their hands, and although you’d feel afraid, all you’d have to do is look down at your enclosed hands and feel a surge of hope.
Sinking slowly onto the pillows on her bed, Tara bundled herself in her covers. Feeling quite content, she slipped her hand under her pillow and removed the tie from underneath her pillow. Decorated with a computer screen pattern, it had been Bobby’s, until he had left it on his desk one day when he left for lunch, and Tara had nonchalantly snatched it from its spot. Bobby had never asked where it went, and Tara had never offered it back. Now, lying in her safety, Tara brought the tie to her nose, and slowly enhaled the essence of Bobby. Suffocating her lungs with his everything, she sighed, feeling at peace, at last, after the long day.
She let her mind wander, and found herself thinking of how nice it would be to lie with Bobby. In the snow. On a March morning. At 5 a.m. And thinking how amazing it would be, through layers of clothing and emotional barriers, they could lay side by side, not even touching, and Tara would see his name spelled out in the stars. She’d feel his heartbeat not-completely-in-synch with his, and she’d fall asleep under the black velvet of night.
Wow….plain and simple.
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Just a side note: The reference to lying in the snow was inspired by a scenario from a fanfiction entitled "The Werewolf Who Stole Christmas".
She turned to Remus, raising her eyebrows at him and grinning. “A picnic?” she said, incredulously.
“Yes.”
“In February?” she said.
“Yes.”
“At midnight?”
“Yes,” he said, returning her grin with interest. “I like a challenge.”
“A challenge?”
“Well,” he said, “any idiot can do it on a warm afternoon in August.”
QUOTE
Steve was a special guy. He really was. But if she jumped off forever with him, they’d simply land on the ground, secure, plain and simple. But if she jumped of with Bobby….wow…what a ride that’d be. With Bobby, you’d run of the edge of a cliff, and dive into oblivion, just to feel the rush of life through you. With Bobby, you could simply soar above the clouds, attached only by clasping each others thumbs, creating the perfect butterfly with their hands, and although you’d feel afraid, all you’d have to do is look down at your enclosed hands and feel a surge of hope.
I loved that paragraph comparing the two men. It was perfect.
i think she needs to ditch steve, he may be a nice guy but she's not in love with him
cath
cath
While I agree with cath, I'm feeling sorry for Steve. And what's going to happen if he eats the cake? She'll be stuck with him forever (no offence Steve!)
kav
kav
QUOTE(learningtosign @ Jul 28 2007, 12:16 AM) 
i think she needs to ditch steve, he may be a nice guy but she's not in love with him
cath
I just caught up on your story and it's wonderful!! I like Levi having a little romance!! He deserves it!!!
I feel a little sorry for Steve too!! I don't think he realizes that she loves Bobby and not him!! And, I think Bobby loves Tara too!! He should be very aware of how she feels about him now that she's given him the "sign"!!!
Enjoy your vacation!!!
Joy
I feel a little sorry for Steve too!! I don't think he realizes that she loves Bobby and not him!! And, I think Bobby loves Tara too!! He should be very aware of how she feels about him now that she's given him the "sign"!!!
Enjoy your vacation!!!
Joy
Very sorry for the late update! I just got back from camping, with a brand new outline for the story. Having an outline is really starting to help me get the ball rolling each time I start typing.
However, seeing as I started my story fairly later on in the competition, I'm not sure I'll be done in time. I'm thinking of about 10 more posts, approximately.
If anyone could offer their support, writing skills, assistance, etc. that would be greatly appreciated!! Feel free to send me a PM or a post.
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10:00 P.M. Friday, June 16, 2005 (Steve's Residence)
"Phew, what a day!" Steve exclaimed as he slowly settled into his desk chair. He reached over to the keyboard in front of him, and logged into his account. Scanning through the various emails he had received, he thought back to the day's events.
He had delivered waterbottles to Tara's co-workers, then headed out for a lovely meal with her. They had had another discussion on the environment lately, and had learned a lot from one another. It was a normal lunch. She has no idea, he though, grinning madly.
"Tara and Steve", he announced. "No, Tara and Steve," he tried again. His head filled with pleasant thoughts of sunshine as he thought, We'll be just like Gaston & Belle. Ignoring the reactions in his brain that screamed at him that he really needed to brush up on his Disney skills, he let his gaze unconsiously wander to the box that perched on top of his monitor.
"Tara Williams, my muse and affection, will you do me the honour of being your husband?" he practised, as he toyed with the velvet-y outside of the box. It was finally time, to take the plunge, and embark in to fiance-ish-land. And boy, did he love her.
Tara was the most amazing person in his life. Every day was a discovery with her. He loved to watch her, to hold her hand, or to watch grass grow with her. She was --
"What the heck!?!?!" Steve exclaimed as he stared at the picture in the attachment of an email. Clicking to enlarge the email, Steve saw that the sender was one of his friends, one he'd told already about the upcoming engagement.
Steve read the email carefully. One word made up the body of the email:
Cheater
"This must be a fake!" Steve stormed around the room, pounding at various sections of the wall, gasping for an escape from the room that seemed to be closing in around him.
"She lied. That scum I love lied!" Steve threw himself onto his desk, perching on the edge. He scrambled to grab the velvet ring box from atop the monitor.
Standing in front of the window, he swung his arm forward and watched in slow motion, as the ring flew through the air, to embed itself in the second pane of glass, smashing the first. Permanently cemented in the light, watching the diamond sparkle, laughing at him, Steve ran out of the room.
The footsteps heard on the staircase pounded back up to the computer room, slwoly shaking all the emotions of the room. Under the sagging weight of such rush of feeling, the window slowly began to crack, like veins running away from the ring. And slowly, but surely, the window shattered, leaving the ring to dangle in mid-air before dropping down to the ledge.
Balancing on the edge of the ledge, the ring felt a gust of wind, and finally fell from its cliff, plunging to the raging backyard below.
Not before it saw the screen though. Not before the ring saw the reason that the love imprinted in it was ruined. And long after the monitor would go black. Long after Steve had destroyed the room and computer. Long afterwards, the image would still be fresh in existince:
A cold blustery day. The building in the background, familiar to all, is chilled to the tips with icicles. A man, wearing an overcoat, is engulfing a woman, wrapped in a scarf, with a kiss that doesn't seem to end.
Date: January 5, 2005
The woman looks familiar. Short blonde hair, with the burly coat on, you might not recognize her as Tara.
And her true love, embracing her with adoration, is Special Agent Bobby Manning.
However, seeing as I started my story fairly later on in the competition, I'm not sure I'll be done in time. I'm thinking of about 10 more posts, approximately.
If anyone could offer their support, writing skills, assistance, etc. that would be greatly appreciated!! Feel free to send me a PM or a post.
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10:00 P.M. Friday, June 16, 2005 (Steve's Residence)
"Phew, what a day!" Steve exclaimed as he slowly settled into his desk chair. He reached over to the keyboard in front of him, and logged into his account. Scanning through the various emails he had received, he thought back to the day's events.
He had delivered waterbottles to Tara's co-workers, then headed out for a lovely meal with her. They had had another discussion on the environment lately, and had learned a lot from one another. It was a normal lunch. She has no idea, he though, grinning madly.
"Tara and Steve", he announced. "No, Tara and Steve," he tried again. His head filled with pleasant thoughts of sunshine as he thought, We'll be just like Gaston & Belle. Ignoring the reactions in his brain that screamed at him that he really needed to brush up on his Disney skills, he let his gaze unconsiously wander to the box that perched on top of his monitor.
"Tara Williams, my muse and affection, will you do me the honour of being your husband?" he practised, as he toyed with the velvet-y outside of the box. It was finally time, to take the plunge, and embark in to fiance-ish-land. And boy, did he love her.
Tara was the most amazing person in his life. Every day was a discovery with her. He loved to watch her, to hold her hand, or to watch grass grow with her. She was --
"What the heck!?!?!" Steve exclaimed as he stared at the picture in the attachment of an email. Clicking to enlarge the email, Steve saw that the sender was one of his friends, one he'd told already about the upcoming engagement.
Steve read the email carefully. One word made up the body of the email:
Cheater
"This must be a fake!" Steve stormed around the room, pounding at various sections of the wall, gasping for an escape from the room that seemed to be closing in around him.
"She lied. That scum I love lied!" Steve threw himself onto his desk, perching on the edge. He scrambled to grab the velvet ring box from atop the monitor.
Standing in front of the window, he swung his arm forward and watched in slow motion, as the ring flew through the air, to embed itself in the second pane of glass, smashing the first. Permanently cemented in the light, watching the diamond sparkle, laughing at him, Steve ran out of the room.
The footsteps heard on the staircase pounded back up to the computer room, slwoly shaking all the emotions of the room. Under the sagging weight of such rush of feeling, the window slowly began to crack, like veins running away from the ring. And slowly, but surely, the window shattered, leaving the ring to dangle in mid-air before dropping down to the ledge.
Balancing on the edge of the ledge, the ring felt a gust of wind, and finally fell from its cliff, plunging to the raging backyard below.
Not before it saw the screen though. Not before the ring saw the reason that the love imprinted in it was ruined. And long after the monitor would go black. Long after Steve had destroyed the room and computer. Long afterwards, the image would still be fresh in existince:
A cold blustery day. The building in the background, familiar to all, is chilled to the tips with icicles. A man, wearing an overcoat, is engulfing a woman, wrapped in a scarf, with a kiss that doesn't seem to end.
Date: January 5, 2005
The woman looks familiar. Short blonde hair, with the burly coat on, you might not recognize her as Tara.
And her true love, embracing her with adoration, is Special Agent Bobby Manning.
UH OH!!! I think Steve is really angry. Should I be worried about him now? 
That was something I wasn't expecting...I'm a bit nervous now, please come back and post again soon!
You pulled off Steve's anger very well. The picture at the end was a great surprise, too.
hmm poor steve... but that picture is old right i mean even for Bobby Tara woiuldnt cheat...would she??
I've only just got round to reading this (Should really be getting on with writing my own, but... 
) and it is fantastic! I loved your descriptions, particularly the scene where the window cracks - I could see this so clearly - like a scene from a film.
I know what you mean about writing taking so much longer than you think - you made me feel lots better by writing that!
I hope Steve doesn't do anything drastic... And I'm with the others here who think she should definitely be with our Bobby - particularly now we know Steve has a real temper!
Really looking forward to the next post.
) and it is fantastic! I loved your descriptions, particularly the scene where the window cracks - I could see this so clearly - like a scene from a film.I know what you mean about writing taking so much longer than you think - you made me feel lots better by writing that!
I hope Steve doesn't do anything drastic... And I'm with the others here who think she should definitely be with our Bobby - particularly now we know Steve has a real temper!
Really looking forward to the next post.
Phew! That was powerful! Steve is now sounding a tad scary...he needs anger management lessons, I think!
kav
kav
EEK! I only have a few days left to finish! Thank goodness I have the weekend to have a good chunk of it written.
Now, I've hit a writer's block regarding Levi & Katie. According to my outline, I should be posting about them now, but I have nothing! So, I'm going to slip in their segment after this post. (I'll go and rent "Lady and the Tramp" !)
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"Tara Williams! Get out of bed!" The answering machine buckled under the strain of the message, as Lucy shouted into her end of the receiver.
Myles, Bobby, Sue, Deanne, and Jack were standing behind her, waiting eagerly for Lucy to relay her reply. They were all jumping around like jellybeans anticipating the surprise party they had prepared for Tara. They planned to find out when Tara would be leaving the house for the day (Lucy), then run over to her apartment and open her lock (Bobby), then run amuck by decorating it with paper streamers and cake.
However, Tara wasn't answering her phone.... boy, did that help the situation.
"Hello?" A sleep voice sang into the receiver as Lucy began to jump up with joy. "She's answering!" she whispered as they all (minus Sue/Deanne) leaned closer to hear her.
"Lucy? Is that you?" Tara asked, obviously woken up by the phone ringing. Bobby imagined exactly what she looked liked: tossled hair, eeyore pajamas, bunny slippers, stiffling a yawn into her head. Oh, how he would love to be able to see her like that every morning.
"Yeah! Wakey wakey, beautiful! It's time to rise and shine, sleepy head! What'cha doing today?" Lucy tried to make the question as noncholant as possible, absolutely praying that Tara would have plans that took her as far away from her home as possible.
"Today? As in Saturday?" Tara replied, obviously still trying to comprehend English at this time of the morning. "Well, Steve is taking me out to lunch. Said something about a pick-up around... Wait! What time is it?" Spinning around to see a clock, Tara gasped when 11:00 flashed back at her. "Oh no!"
"Tara? Tara, is everything alright?" Lucy asked, suddenly worried. Bobby, picking up the frantic tone of her voice, shoved even closer to Lucy.
"Yeah, everything's fine, except I only have 20 minutes to get ready... I have NOTHING to wear!" Tara exclaimed as she ran into her room, trying to juggle both the phone and opening up her closet.
"Tara", laughed Lucy, "It's fine. I was just wondering when you'll be back, in case we want to do some girl stuff today."
"I dunno. Around 3-ish? Listen, Luce, I really need to get going. Talk to you later?" Clicking off the phone, Tara raced around the room, picking out various articles of clothing. She knew today would be special, because it was her birthday, after all, but her gut told her that something else would be happening.
Could the last year finally turn into the first year of her life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having stormed out of Lucy & Sue's apartment as soon as Tara hung up the phone, the seven friends had piled into their respective vehicles and flew (rather drove) over to Tara's apartment. Waiting in various spots outside of her apartment, they watched as she opened the door, and walked down into the parking lot.
Bobby's breath caught at the sight of her. She had her hair tucked hehind her ears with jewelled bobby pins (Bobby.. get it?
) with a matching, simply necklace round her neck. She had black strapped high heals on, making her much taller than usual. "And easier to kiss," Bobby thought to himself as he let his eyes wander around her body.
She was wearing a lavendar knee length dress, which hugged at her hips, and spliced into two straps at her shoulder.
Walking briskly to her car, Tara didn't even notice the various agents slowly detach themselves from their cars, and tiptoe across the road as she pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the road in the opposite direction.
Bobby was first to arrive at the door, and retrieving the tools from his pocket, had the door open within minutes. Climbing the steps two at a time, he barreled up the staircase to her apartment. Working his magic once again, he stepped into her apartment.
Littered with various dishes and articles of clothing, the apartment looked as though Tara really had been late for her date. Stepping carefully to stepping on the dress pile at the front door, he latched the door open, and deposited the first box of decorations on the couch.
Looking around the apartment, it felt bare and unnecessary without Tara inside it. Almost.. lonely. Hoping to spruce up the place, Bobby opened the first box of decorations and began to hang the streamers from the sealing fan to the cupboard of the kitchen.
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I have officially counted that I will have exactly 5 more posts. Hopefulyl I can write another one today, two more tomorrow, then one/two on Monday and Tuesday.
The dress: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/08/wang_310x600.jpg
Now, I've hit a writer's block regarding Levi & Katie. According to my outline, I should be posting about them now, but I have nothing! So, I'm going to slip in their segment after this post. (I'll go and rent "Lady and the Tramp" !
)````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
"Tara Williams! Get out of bed!" The answering machine buckled under the strain of the message, as Lucy shouted into her end of the receiver.
Myles, Bobby, Sue, Deanne, and Jack were standing behind her, waiting eagerly for Lucy to relay her reply. They were all jumping around like jellybeans anticipating the surprise party they had prepared for Tara. They planned to find out when Tara would be leaving the house for the day (Lucy), then run over to her apartment and open her lock (Bobby), then run amuck by decorating it with paper streamers and cake.
However, Tara wasn't answering her phone.... boy, did that help the situation.
"Hello?" A sleep voice sang into the receiver as Lucy began to jump up with joy. "She's answering!" she whispered as they all (minus Sue/Deanne) leaned closer to hear her.
"Lucy? Is that you?" Tara asked, obviously woken up by the phone ringing. Bobby imagined exactly what she looked liked: tossled hair, eeyore pajamas, bunny slippers, stiffling a yawn into her head. Oh, how he would love to be able to see her like that every morning.
"Yeah! Wakey wakey, beautiful! It's time to rise and shine, sleepy head! What'cha doing today?" Lucy tried to make the question as noncholant as possible, absolutely praying that Tara would have plans that took her as far away from her home as possible.
"Today? As in Saturday?" Tara replied, obviously still trying to comprehend English at this time of the morning. "Well, Steve is taking me out to lunch. Said something about a pick-up around... Wait! What time is it?" Spinning around to see a clock, Tara gasped when 11:00 flashed back at her. "Oh no!"
"Tara? Tara, is everything alright?" Lucy asked, suddenly worried. Bobby, picking up the frantic tone of her voice, shoved even closer to Lucy.
"Yeah, everything's fine, except I only have 20 minutes to get ready... I have NOTHING to wear!" Tara exclaimed as she ran into her room, trying to juggle both the phone and opening up her closet.
"Tara", laughed Lucy, "It's fine. I was just wondering when you'll be back, in case we want to do some girl stuff today."
"I dunno. Around 3-ish? Listen, Luce, I really need to get going. Talk to you later?" Clicking off the phone, Tara raced around the room, picking out various articles of clothing. She knew today would be special, because it was her birthday, after all, but her gut told her that something else would be happening.
Could the last year finally turn into the first year of her life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having stormed out of Lucy & Sue's apartment as soon as Tara hung up the phone, the seven friends had piled into their respective vehicles and flew (rather drove) over to Tara's apartment. Waiting in various spots outside of her apartment, they watched as she opened the door, and walked down into the parking lot.
Bobby's breath caught at the sight of her. She had her hair tucked hehind her ears with jewelled bobby pins (Bobby.. get it?
) with a matching, simply necklace round her neck. She had black strapped high heals on, making her much taller than usual. "And easier to kiss," Bobby thought to himself as he let his eyes wander around her body. She was wearing a lavendar knee length dress, which hugged at her hips, and spliced into two straps at her shoulder.
Walking briskly to her car, Tara didn't even notice the various agents slowly detach themselves from their cars, and tiptoe across the road as she pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the road in the opposite direction.
Bobby was first to arrive at the door, and retrieving the tools from his pocket, had the door open within minutes. Climbing the steps two at a time, he barreled up the staircase to her apartment. Working his magic once again, he stepped into her apartment.
Littered with various dishes and articles of clothing, the apartment looked as though Tara really had been late for her date. Stepping carefully to stepping on the dress pile at the front door, he latched the door open, and deposited the first box of decorations on the couch.
Looking around the apartment, it felt bare and unnecessary without Tara inside it. Almost.. lonely. Hoping to spruce up the place, Bobby opened the first box of decorations and began to hang the streamers from the sealing fan to the cupboard of the kitchen.
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I have officially counted that I will have exactly 5 more posts. Hopefulyl I can write another one today, two more tomorrow, then one/two on Monday and Tuesday.
The dress: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/08/wang_310x600.jpg
hope steve has calmed down a bit before he talkes her for lunch
cath
cath
Your description of Steve's anger is incredible!! He's a little scary, and I'm feeling a little nervous about Tara meeting him for lunch!!
Well, Bobby is definitely interested in Tara!! Maybe the lunch will be the end of Steve and the beginning of Bobby!!!
Joy
Well, Bobby is definitely interested in Tara!! Maybe the lunch will be the end of Steve and the beginning of Bobby!!!
Joy
Love Bobby's thoughts! Can't wait for the party.
kav
kav
Catching up on your story Stollhofen.
7/27 - Post #1 - Hmmm, Tara and Steve? Only she's thinking of Beve? I think she needs to rethink this and put obby with that B!
What a delightful love interest to test the love potion pie, Levi and Katie. Can't wait to see how this plays out!
7/27 Post #2 - What an intriguing post. Tara certainly has found someone in Steve that makes a great companion; but, me thinks she doesn't really love him! Loved that Bobby wasn't asleep when she fomed the sign in his hand.
7/27 Post #3 - Now I'm confused. I thought she was going to try he love potion pie out on just Levi and Katie; but, she gave one to Steve too? What a magical scene with Bobby and the signs. I knew it, she does love Bobby.
8/7 Post -
Very powerful picture of Steve. I think he has a split personality and Tara needs to disassociate herself from him immediately! For all Steve knows they could have been on an undercover operation when that picture was taken. But, even more important, that everyone seems to have missed, WHO SENT THE PICTURE?
Btw, agree with Eclipsse on the window breaking. I could just picture that scene playing out on the big screen in slow motion!
8/11 Post -
I'm thinking Bobby might have sent the picture! But, if he thinks Tara might love him and he loves her, then surely he would have run a background check on Steve long ago when Tara first started dating him. However, that doesn't necessarily catch all the crazies out there. Will be anxiously awaiting those final 5 posts. You can do it...I know you can do it....just repeat after me....I can write...I can write....I can write!
Here is something to sustain you and help those creative juices flow!
This is a great story...very creative!
Lynn
PS. I guess I'm very very tired...and ashamed to say I don't know what the sign was that Tara made in Bobby's hand and the sign he made back with his other hand. When I read that, I got confused.
Can you enlighten me? And forgive my ignorance? Thanks!
7/27 - Post #1 - Hmmm, Tara and Steve? Only she's thinking of Beve? I think she needs to rethink this and put obby with that B!
What a delightful love interest to test the love potion pie, Levi and Katie. Can't wait to see how this plays out!
7/27 Post #2 - What an intriguing post. Tara certainly has found someone in Steve that makes a great companion; but, me thinks she doesn't really love him! Loved that Bobby wasn't asleep when she fomed the sign in his hand.
7/27 Post #3 - Now I'm confused. I thought she was going to try he love potion pie out on just Levi and Katie; but, she gave one to Steve too? What a magical scene with Bobby and the signs. I knew it, she does love Bobby.
QUOTE
Steve was a special guy. He really was. But if she jumped of with Bobby….wow…what a ride that’d be. With Bobby, you’d run of the edge of a cliff, and dive into oblivion, just to feel the rush of life through you. With Bobby, you could simply soar above the clouds, attached only by clasping each others thumbs, creating the perfect butterfly with their hands, and although you’d feel afraid, all you’d have to do is look down at your enclosed hands and feel a surge of hope
That was sheer poetry! Beautiful! 8/7 Post -
Very powerful picture of Steve. I think he has a split personality and Tara needs to disassociate herself from him immediately! For all Steve knows they could have been on an undercover operation when that picture was taken. But, even more important, that everyone seems to have missed, WHO SENT THE PICTURE?
Btw, agree with Eclipsse on the window breaking. I could just picture that scene playing out on the big screen in slow motion!
8/11 Post -
QUOTE
Could the last year finally turn into the first year of her life?
I think maybe the last year might turn into her last year, as of today....I'm scared of what Steve might be planning! I'm thinking Bobby might have sent the picture! But, if he thinks Tara might love him and he loves her, then surely he would have run a background check on Steve long ago when Tara first started dating him. However, that doesn't necessarily catch all the crazies out there. Will be anxiously awaiting those final 5 posts. You can do it...I know you can do it....just repeat after me....I can write...I can write....I can write!
Here is something to sustain you and help those creative juices flow!
This is a great story...very creative!
Lynn
PS. I guess I'm very very tired...and ashamed to say I don't know what the sign was that Tara made in Bobby's hand and the sign he made back with his other hand. When I read that, I got confused.
Can you enlighten me? And forgive my ignorance? Thanks!
Wow... that was a long post. Thanks for all the compliments and advice! I love the chocolate.
Not to ruin the story, but unfortunately, the person who sends the picture isn't a vital part of the story. As mentioned, it's just a friend of Steve's.
The sign Tara made was: I Love You. The first letter of all those words combined into one sign.
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When I originally thought of this story, I had wanted it to be classified as a Levi/Katie story, with Bobby/Tara/Steve on the side. It seems to have switched. Unfortunately though, I seem to have failed my story. I have hit a major writer’s block with my Levi/Katie side.
So, since the story is due in a matter of days, I am going to skip over my Levi/Katie parts, and add them back into the story later. Don’t worry! I’ll make it quite obvious which part goes where in the story, etc.
Really sorry to disappoint anyone…. I think I’m in over my head.
NOW! For the climatic chapter you’ve all been waiting for:
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Tara pulled her car into the parking lot. And sat. And sat. And sat. She simply sat there, looking straight ahead at the sight that beheld her. A party. A real Birthday party. The outside patio of her favourite restaurant was decorated with streamers, balloons, banners galore. She could see the waiters and waitresses inside, grinning madly at their creations, waiting to see her emerge from her car and jump around with pure delight.
But something wasn’t right. Amidst all the festivities, and was that a chocolate cake!, there was something missing. As she opened the door, Tara gave one last glance around the patio, searching for that missing puzzle piece, but as she stepped out of the car, came face to face with it.
“Steve!” Tara threw herself onto him, hugging him hard, then jumping up and down with her arms still around his neck. “Did you do all of t—“
With no words of explanation spoken, Steve had grabbed her wrist, hard, and was now pulling her un-gently towards the first table. Roughly he pushed her into her seat, and spun into the chair across from her, never releasing her wrist from his grip.
“Steve,” chuckled Tara, anxiously, “What’s wrong? I mean, this is so wonderful! How did you pull this off!” Setting her purse and cellphone on the table between them, Tara began to gaze once again at her beautiful surroundings. She noticed that the balloons were all different colours… but wait…. What did they say?
“Con.. gra….tu….lations? Congratulations? Steve, that’s not your customary Birthday wish,” Tara commented, confused-ly staring at him.
“There not just for you,” Steve snarled, lips curling up into a sneer as he reached into his back pocket. “I wanted to offer congrats to the new couple on the street.”
“Oh. You mean, this isn’t just for me? That’s okay… I mean, that’s fine,” obviously disappointed, Tara lowered her eyes to inspect the sheer brightness of the white table.
Jerking her wrist towards him, Steve leaned forward until he was a few centimentres from her face. His breath was stale and crisp against her cheek, and for those few seconds, seeing the steam rise from his eyes, billowing towards the clouds, Tara was afraid.
“Oh no, Princ-ess,” Steve taunted, “The party is all for you. And your wonderful lover.”
Tara searched his eyes, for something, for anything that wouldn’t imply what she thought it did. “Steve, I thought we talked about this before. I’m not going to sleep—“
“Oh! I get it… you don’t sleep with me… but you don’t mind sleeping with him!” Opening his hand, Steve smacked a crumpled picture onto the table between them. Almost afraid to look down, Tara stared evenly at Steve until he smashed her wrist onto the table and she was forced to see it.
It was her. It was definitely her. But the horrible, yet wonderful, thing was that she was not lip-locked with Steve. It was…. Bobby. Boy, how she had felt so wonderful that night, so alive. She could have stayed like that for—
Yanking her back to the present, Steve began to rant: “You think that I’d fall for that little, “I’m so precious… I’m a secret agent crap that you were giving me. You were playing me all along, weren’t you! With this… this scum.”
Ignoring Tara’s slowly tracking tears down her face and frantic shakes of her head, trying to dislodge his train of thought, Steve pushed his head so that their noses were touching, and Tara was forced to look at him cross-eyes, making the double of the situation wish that she was able to run.
But she couldn’t. She was glued to her seat with the truth. There was no escape for this, no one to save her, and she was going to be at the mercy of whoever this man in front of her had become.
Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff Tara’s cellphone sang them the themesong of the most anti-hate, love-everyone character around. And how ironic how she wished she was in the Hundred-Acre-Wood, and would be able to hide behind every tree and wait for a Christopher Robin to rescue her and bring her home.
“Well, who do we have here? A caller? For you?” Steve taunted, his breath turning cold, “Who would want to call you, you b-“
“Stop it!” Tara yelled, trying to worm her way out his grip, with no avail. She knew a bruise would form there, and god-knows-what-else he would do to her, but that was the least of her worries now. “Steve, please!”
“Why don’t we give a look-see-hear to the caller, shall we?” Steve waited patiently for the caller to leave a message and hang up, as Tara squirmed, crying and pleading. How could a man she had minutes ago loved, ignore her as though she was the bug on his eyelash… that he could barely feel her presence, and when he did, he would shoo her away.
As soon as he opened the phone to see the message, Steve’s face changed like a chameleon from taunting to cold. Ice cold. And Tara felt the blood drain from her face as Steve stood up, pulling her at the opposite end of his blood-cold hands with him.
“Bobby? As in Mrs. I-Think-I’ll-Cheat-On-My-Ex-Fiance’s Bobby?” Steve’s voice accelereated with each breath, and Tara prayed that one of the waiters would still be looking in through the window. And what would they see? A disturbed, angry man staring at a cellphone as though it held the devil itself, cluthching the arm of a helpless woman, who was shocked over the phrase “Ex-fiance”.
“You were going to ask me to marry you?” Tara whispered, losing her fear within seconds, and having it replaced by immortal depression.
“Bobby.” Steve was fuming now. His jaw was quivering with anger, the madness raging deep within him.
“Steve, talk to me-“ Tara pleaded.
“Shut up.” He stated. Not even bothering to look up at her, Steve bore his eyes into the name that flashed up at him from the screen.
“Steve, maybe we should just-“
“I told you to SHUT UP!” Steve yelled, and with one solid movement, acted.
When Tara was younger, she had been playing baseball with her Dad in the backyard, him pitching, her batting. It was in preparation for the pee-wee tryouts that afternoon. She had stared him down, eager to please her role model, and had desperately wanted to just smack that ball.
But that wasn’t what had happened. Instead, her father, wide-eyed and the grin dropping from his face, had watched as the baseball made a wrong turn.
Tara watched in slow motion as the object soared through the air. It arched, perfectly shining as the sunlight reflected off the sheer coating. And Tara saw with amazement Bobby’s name before the cellphone flew shut with the force of the throw, and come to collide with her face.
Instantly ricocheting back from the force of the throw, Tara toppled backwards into her seat, her good hand immeadiately cradling her tear-streaked and flaming with pain face.
Silently crying to herself, Tara did not react when Steve threw her bruised wrist to the table, burning with the sensation of a broken desire.
She did not hear his car slowly back away from her…and drift away into the sunlight…the black of the roof permanently implanted in her mind as the darkest fear she would ever have.
She did not see the waiters and waitresses suddenly emerge onto the patio, and seeing a heart-broken woman, turn and enter inside again, as though watching her cry was a pain they could not bear.
She couldn’t even hear her own feet, as she struggled to move her body, in slow, deliberate movements towards her vehicle.
But it was there, as she sat in her car, with the keys poised over the ignition, that everything came racing back to her at the speed of light. She could not control her thoughts and every word Steve had spoken was suddenly thrown at her, again and again, hearing a screaming sound in the background. The screaming, mingled with his throes of anger, created the screeching sensation that burned into her ears.
And with a sudden breath caught in her throat, realized that she was the one screaming.
The car would eventually pull away. And the waiters and waitresses would slowly take away all the balloons and ornaments, and throw them out, burned with the lie that had beheld here.
But someone would come across the cellphone, broken, lying on the cement, as the message sang over and over again to anyone that would listen.
“Hey, Tara luv. It’s Bobby. Just calling to wish you a Happy Birthday. I know you’re on a date with Steve and everything… hope I’m not interrupting anything important. Have a great day, luv. I—never mind. Just have a fantastic day. Happy Birthday.”
Not to ruin the story, but unfortunately, the person who sends the picture isn't a vital part of the story. As mentioned, it's just a friend of Steve's.
The sign Tara made was: I Love You. The first letter of all those words combined into one sign.
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When I originally thought of this story, I had wanted it to be classified as a Levi/Katie story, with Bobby/Tara/Steve on the side. It seems to have switched. Unfortunately though, I seem to have failed my story. I have hit a major writer’s block with my Levi/Katie side.
So, since the story is due in a matter of days, I am going to skip over my Levi/Katie parts, and add them back into the story later. Don’t worry! I’ll make it quite obvious which part goes where in the story, etc.
Really sorry to disappoint anyone…. I think I’m in over my head.
NOW! For the climatic chapter you’ve all been waiting for:
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Tara pulled her car into the parking lot. And sat. And sat. And sat. She simply sat there, looking straight ahead at the sight that beheld her. A party. A real Birthday party. The outside patio of her favourite restaurant was decorated with streamers, balloons, banners galore. She could see the waiters and waitresses inside, grinning madly at their creations, waiting to see her emerge from her car and jump around with pure delight.
But something wasn’t right. Amidst all the festivities, and was that a chocolate cake!, there was something missing. As she opened the door, Tara gave one last glance around the patio, searching for that missing puzzle piece, but as she stepped out of the car, came face to face with it.
“Steve!” Tara threw herself onto him, hugging him hard, then jumping up and down with her arms still around his neck. “Did you do all of t—“
With no words of explanation spoken, Steve had grabbed her wrist, hard, and was now pulling her un-gently towards the first table. Roughly he pushed her into her seat, and spun into the chair across from her, never releasing her wrist from his grip.
“Steve,” chuckled Tara, anxiously, “What’s wrong? I mean, this is so wonderful! How did you pull this off!” Setting her purse and cellphone on the table between them, Tara began to gaze once again at her beautiful surroundings. She noticed that the balloons were all different colours… but wait…. What did they say?
“Con.. gra….tu….lations? Congratulations? Steve, that’s not your customary Birthday wish,” Tara commented, confused-ly staring at him.
“There not just for you,” Steve snarled, lips curling up into a sneer as he reached into his back pocket. “I wanted to offer congrats to the new couple on the street.”
“Oh. You mean, this isn’t just for me? That’s okay… I mean, that’s fine,” obviously disappointed, Tara lowered her eyes to inspect the sheer brightness of the white table.
Jerking her wrist towards him, Steve leaned forward until he was a few centimentres from her face. His breath was stale and crisp against her cheek, and for those few seconds, seeing the steam rise from his eyes, billowing towards the clouds, Tara was afraid.
“Oh no, Princ-ess,” Steve taunted, “The party is all for you. And your wonderful lover.”
Tara searched his eyes, for something, for anything that wouldn’t imply what she thought it did. “Steve, I thought we talked about this before. I’m not going to sleep—“
“Oh! I get it… you don’t sleep with me… but you don’t mind sleeping with him!” Opening his hand, Steve smacked a crumpled picture onto the table between them. Almost afraid to look down, Tara stared evenly at Steve until he smashed her wrist onto the table and she was forced to see it.
It was her. It was definitely her. But the horrible, yet wonderful, thing was that she was not lip-locked with Steve. It was…. Bobby. Boy, how she had felt so wonderful that night, so alive. She could have stayed like that for—
Yanking her back to the present, Steve began to rant: “You think that I’d fall for that little, “I’m so precious… I’m a secret agent crap that you were giving me. You were playing me all along, weren’t you! With this… this scum.”
Ignoring Tara’s slowly tracking tears down her face and frantic shakes of her head, trying to dislodge his train of thought, Steve pushed his head so that their noses were touching, and Tara was forced to look at him cross-eyes, making the double of the situation wish that she was able to run.
But she couldn’t. She was glued to her seat with the truth. There was no escape for this, no one to save her, and she was going to be at the mercy of whoever this man in front of her had become.
Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff Tara’s cellphone sang them the themesong of the most anti-hate, love-everyone character around. And how ironic how she wished she was in the Hundred-Acre-Wood, and would be able to hide behind every tree and wait for a Christopher Robin to rescue her and bring her home.
“Well, who do we have here? A caller? For you?” Steve taunted, his breath turning cold, “Who would want to call you, you b-“
“Stop it!” Tara yelled, trying to worm her way out his grip, with no avail. She knew a bruise would form there, and god-knows-what-else he would do to her, but that was the least of her worries now. “Steve, please!”
“Why don’t we give a look-see-hear to the caller, shall we?” Steve waited patiently for the caller to leave a message and hang up, as Tara squirmed, crying and pleading. How could a man she had minutes ago loved, ignore her as though she was the bug on his eyelash… that he could barely feel her presence, and when he did, he would shoo her away.
As soon as he opened the phone to see the message, Steve’s face changed like a chameleon from taunting to cold. Ice cold. And Tara felt the blood drain from her face as Steve stood up, pulling her at the opposite end of his blood-cold hands with him.
“Bobby? As in Mrs. I-Think-I’ll-Cheat-On-My-Ex-Fiance’s Bobby?” Steve’s voice accelereated with each breath, and Tara prayed that one of the waiters would still be looking in through the window. And what would they see? A disturbed, angry man staring at a cellphone as though it held the devil itself, cluthching the arm of a helpless woman, who was shocked over the phrase “Ex-fiance”.
“You were going to ask me to marry you?” Tara whispered, losing her fear within seconds, and having it replaced by immortal depression.
“Bobby.” Steve was fuming now. His jaw was quivering with anger, the madness raging deep within him.
“Steve, talk to me-“ Tara pleaded.
“Shut up.” He stated. Not even bothering to look up at her, Steve bore his eyes into the name that flashed up at him from the screen.
“Steve, maybe we should just-“
“I told you to SHUT UP!” Steve yelled, and with one solid movement, acted.
When Tara was younger, she had been playing baseball with her Dad in the backyard, him pitching, her batting. It was in preparation for the pee-wee tryouts that afternoon. She had stared him down, eager to please her role model, and had desperately wanted to just smack that ball.
But that wasn’t what had happened. Instead, her father, wide-eyed and the grin dropping from his face, had watched as the baseball made a wrong turn.
Tara watched in slow motion as the object soared through the air. It arched, perfectly shining as the sunlight reflected off the sheer coating. And Tara saw with amazement Bobby’s name before the cellphone flew shut with the force of the throw, and come to collide with her face.
Instantly ricocheting back from the force of the throw, Tara toppled backwards into her seat, her good hand immeadiately cradling her tear-streaked and flaming with pain face.
Silently crying to herself, Tara did not react when Steve threw her bruised wrist to the table, burning with the sensation of a broken desire.
She did not hear his car slowly back away from her…and drift away into the sunlight…the black of the roof permanently implanted in her mind as the darkest fear she would ever have.
She did not see the waiters and waitresses suddenly emerge onto the patio, and seeing a heart-broken woman, turn and enter inside again, as though watching her cry was a pain they could not bear.
She couldn’t even hear her own feet, as she struggled to move her body, in slow, deliberate movements towards her vehicle.
But it was there, as she sat in her car, with the keys poised over the ignition, that everything came racing back to her at the speed of light. She could not control her thoughts and every word Steve had spoken was suddenly thrown at her, again and again, hearing a screaming sound in the background. The screaming, mingled with his throes of anger, created the screeching sensation that burned into her ears.
And with a sudden breath caught in her throat, realized that she was the one screaming.
The car would eventually pull away. And the waiters and waitresses would slowly take away all the balloons and ornaments, and throw them out, burned with the lie that had beheld here.
But someone would come across the cellphone, broken, lying on the cement, as the message sang over and over again to anyone that would listen.
“Hey, Tara luv. It’s Bobby. Just calling to wish you a Happy Birthday. I know you’re on a date with Steve and everything… hope I’m not interrupting anything important. Have a great day, luv. I—never mind. Just have a fantastic day. Happy Birthday.”
That sent chills up my spine - very well written!!!
Joy
Joy
aww poor Tara go to bobby and tell him ... though that will be a danger to steves health who cares he's horrid
That was a very dramatic scene...well written....and I wanted to scream along with Tara when Steve threw the cell phone at her. At least he didn't kidnap her which I was afraid he might do! Now she is going home where the team is decorating her apt. I bet Bobby will throw one conniption fit when he sees what Steve did to her. Bobby, you better take her in your arms and tell her you love her!
Lynn
Lynn
The next post will be broken into 3 parts: This being the first. Which semi-makes it into 6 more posts I have to do... but oh well.
So, I'm still in writer's block land over Katie/Levi... SO, if anyone has any ideas whatsoever, please email/PM/post them... I really don't want to have the part left out.
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GNUSMAS. The name flashed back at her as Tara stared into the rear view mirror. She was parked. In her parking lot. She'd been there for at least an hour... but she couldn't stop staring.
What had she done to deserve this? How could she have been so naive and so... stupid. She should've told Steve about Bobby... well maybe not everything about Bobby, but at least the kissing part.
But would that've been any better. If she'd sat him down, and told him, would he have just nodded his head and told her it was fine, or would he have exploded and acted-- acted the way he did.
If she could take back everything that had ever happened with Bobby, would she be standing on an aisle today instead of a crossroad? Would she be grasping a ring the way she grasped her cheek? Would things have changed for the better?
But taking back Bobby was-- "Bobby," Tara said, as her face crumpled once again, and sugar tears skipped across her eyelashes. "Oh, Bobby, it should've been you."
For she couldn't take back anything. Because that meant erasing her own self from existence. For without the laughs, the talks, the winks, the giggles, the dimples, the dimples. Without the drives home when her car broke, without the warm pots of disgusting coffee, she wouldn't even be in a solid, recognizable shape... she'd be...
"Nothing."
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"Just. Put. One. Foot," Tara sang with tears as she struggled to walk up the stairs. The weight of the situation, the gravity of truth was pulling her down, easing her into a fetal position, one that could bring comfort and... understand. But she couldn't. Not here on the stairs.
"Only a few more steps to the landing. And. Soon. You'll. Be. Walking. Cross. The. Flo-o-or." Tara reached the landing, and with more steady and slightly determined steps walked forward until she was sure she should be reaching her door.
But instead, she felt like she was in the middle of a Madeleine cartoon, and the more she struggled to reach the door, the farther away it was. And there was laughter. Laughter?
Her mind not quite yet comprehending the impending situation, Tara smacked her hand against the wall, and leaning against it, walked briskly until the door finally came into proper focus.
“If you want to change your direction, if your time of life is at ha—“ Singing softly, Tara had reached rhythmically into her pocket and retrieved her keys. But when she placed them in the lock, the door creeped open a millimetre.
Tara threw open the door. And cried.
So, I'm still in writer's block land over Katie/Levi... SO, if anyone has any ideas whatsoever, please email/PM/post them... I really don't want to have the part left out.
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GNUSMAS. The name flashed back at her as Tara stared into the rear view mirror. She was parked. In her parking lot. She'd been there for at least an hour... but she couldn't stop staring.
What had she done to deserve this? How could she have been so naive and so... stupid. She should've told Steve about Bobby... well maybe not everything about Bobby, but at least the kissing part.
But would that've been any better. If she'd sat him down, and told him, would he have just nodded his head and told her it was fine, or would he have exploded and acted-- acted the way he did.
If she could take back everything that had ever happened with Bobby, would she be standing on an aisle today instead of a crossroad? Would she be grasping a ring the way she grasped her cheek? Would things have changed for the better?
But taking back Bobby was-- "Bobby," Tara said, as her face crumpled once again, and sugar tears skipped across her eyelashes. "Oh, Bobby, it should've been you."
For she couldn't take back anything. Because that meant erasing her own self from existence. For without the laughs, the talks, the winks, the giggles, the dimples, the dimples. Without the drives home when her car broke, without the warm pots of disgusting coffee, she wouldn't even be in a solid, recognizable shape... she'd be...
"Nothing."
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"Just. Put. One. Foot," Tara sang with tears as she struggled to walk up the stairs. The weight of the situation, the gravity of truth was pulling her down, easing her into a fetal position, one that could bring comfort and... understand. But she couldn't. Not here on the stairs.
"Only a few more steps to the landing. And. Soon. You'll. Be. Walking. Cross. The. Flo-o-or." Tara reached the landing, and with more steady and slightly determined steps walked forward until she was sure she should be reaching her door.
But instead, she felt like she was in the middle of a Madeleine cartoon, and the more she struggled to reach the door, the farther away it was. And there was laughter. Laughter?
Her mind not quite yet comprehending the impending situation, Tara smacked her hand against the wall, and leaning against it, walked briskly until the door finally came into proper focus.
“If you want to change your direction, if your time of life is at ha—“ Singing softly, Tara had reached rhythmically into her pocket and retrieved her keys. But when she placed them in the lock, the door creeped open a millimetre.
Tara threw open the door. And cried.
poor tara i hope they catch this sicko soon and put him away for a long time
cath
cath
Oh, Tara, I feel so bad for you. I so want to hear about why you were kissing Bobby back in Jan; but, I know now is not the time to ask. I hope you tell us though. 
Now, did Tara cry out b/c she was finally home and let loose her emotions? Or, did she cry out b/c she forgot the team was there decorating her apartment and she really didn't feel like seeing anyone at that moment?
Lynn
Now, did Tara cry out b/c she was finally home and let loose her emotions? Or, did she cry out b/c she forgot the team was there decorating her apartment and she really didn't feel like seeing anyone at that moment?
Lynn
Catching up (computers... grrr)
Steve was terrifying - horrible! All that to hurt and humiliate her. The scene was so vivid - I felt as if I was there!
Today's post - So sad - loved her introspection, and the thoughts as she returned home.
The team are going to be furious when they see/hear what's happened - Steve is in biiig trouble now!
Steve was terrifying - horrible! All that to hurt and humiliate her. The scene was so vivid - I felt as if I was there!
Today's post - So sad - loved her introspection, and the thoughts as she returned home.
The team are going to be furious when they see/hear what's happened - Steve is in biiig trouble now!
Uh-oh -- this is getting 
I think Tara's about ready for a knight in shining armor.
kav
I think Tara's about ready for a knight in shining armor.kav
aww poor tara dont go in actually wait there its her surprise party isnt it watch out styeve your about to have at least three FBI agents knocking don your door
Poor Tara!
The team is going to kill Steve when they get a hold of him!!!!!
The team is going to kill Steve when they get a hold of him!!!!!
Oh, oh, I don't think Tara is going to be happy at first that the team wanted to surprise her for her birthday!! But the up side is that Bobby is there and he can comfort her!!!
Joy
Joy
Rise and shine, and welcome to another wonderful afternoon of posting! I hope to have two posts this evening (including this one), and then the final two tomorrow.
Just a comment about this post specifically: This was supposed to be the “Tara-walking-into-her-building" scene, from the perspective of the team.
BUT, instead I decided to basically ignore what everyone was doing while Tara walked upstairs. Pretend that they were decorating. Imagine! Explore your inner creativity!!
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Tara threw open the door. And cried.
Robbed. She had been robbed. Tara Williams, an agent had been robbed. On her birthday of all days.
Attempting to articulate eyesight through the tickle (not trickle, tickle) of tears that danced across her eyelids, Tara took a heavy, weighted step forward. And suddenly, the world shifted into focus.
Her living room was in shambles. The drapes were haphazardly pulled together with, was that ribbon? Her coffee table contents had been shoved onto her couch, and were replaced with a mountain of cardboard boxes. There was an upside-down banner hanging from the ceiling, but Tara didn’t have the energy or willpower to cock her head to the side to read it. Shifting her weight forward, Tara peered above one of the boxes on the top of the p—
“So when did she say she’d be home?” Tara heard loud, distant voices coming from the direction of her kitchen. Immediately she froze. The robbers were still in here? She slowly crept, toe by toe, to the kitchen door, wondering why in the world the voice seemed so familiar.
She had heard that there was a robber in her neighbourhood recently, parading around with by the name of Kitchen Appliance Victor... or KAV. (Sorry! Had to add that, after read Rerio's "Psychosis and the Single Agent")
The sound of pots and pans in her cupboard jarred Tara from her thoughts, and her hand froze on the door handle.
“Now, where would I keep my cake dish if I was—“
Twisting the door open, Tara threw her small body into the frame of the door way, poised to find the intruder and disarm him.
"Back away from my cake pans!"
“Tara!”
“Tara?”
“Woof!”
Tara?
“Tara, luv?”
The chorus of greetings, all from her team mates (plus Levi!), caught her so off guard, that Tara simply slammed the door shut again and walked slowly backwards until her back connected with her wall, and willingly sank down onto her gluteus maximus. Holding her head in her hands, she forced herself to breathe, in and out, in and out, out and in, no wait, in and out, that’s better.
Attempting to regulate a proper breathing pattern, Tara didn’t notice as her team mates drifted through the doorway to create an imposing semi-circle around her:
Myles Sue Jack Deanne
Lucy Tara Bobby
“Tara?” Bobby shivered her shoulder against his, hoping to hear a response out of the adorable, troubled agent beside him.
“Wh…what....what’re you all doing here?.... I mean, here here. In my apartment… here?” Tara lifted her head and began to swivel her torso back and forth, concern and feared etched into every crease of her forehead.
Jack coughed slightly, and raised his right hand, sheepishly.
“It’s a funny story, actually. See, we had this idea-” Clutching his side, Jack recoiled from the elbow in the side he had received from both Sue and Deanne.
Hi-fiving each other, Sue and Deanne turned to Tara, and began to slowly explain how they had been decorating her apartment. They explained the preparation, the whole “Bobby-just-broke-into-your-apartment” factor, and how they were just searching for a cake pan for the finale.
“You weren’t exactly to be home, now,” Myles muttered, clearly dissatisfied with the situation, his wonderfully, meticulous plan foiled by the birthday-girl herself.
“Yeah! I thought you went out to lunch with Steve,” Lucy said, bending down to kneel beside Tara, joining Bobby at her side.
“Tara? Is everything okay” Sue looked to Jack to see if Tara had muttered anything under her breath, but Jack remained silent, searching Tara’s face.
Tara slowly raised her head, facing Sue, so she could read her lips best, hand still covering her cheek.
“Something went---“ Tara broke off, stuttering against her own tongue, and sheepishly coughed into her chest. Raising her head again, Tara cleared her throat and tried again.
“Something went… wrong.” Tara let her hand slide, like ice on a winter rooftop, from her cheek, lingering carefully at the base of her collarbone before plummeting like a teardrop into her lap.
Immediately, Lucy gasped and reached her hand out slowly, within inches of Tara’s face, as though torn between comfort and fear. Tara turned her head downward, ashamed of what she had brought on to her self.
For about the kajillionth time that day, Tara was jerked around, but now it was in the direction of her true love, as he roughly grabbed her chin and forced it to the side.
As soon as Bobby saw the GNUSMAS mark imbedded into her cheek, he dropped his hand as though it burned and jumped to his feet, pacing within the 3 foot walkway.
“Steve did that?! Steve… “I-Love-You-Tara-Steve” did that to you? What did he do, chuck a cell phone at your face!! For doing what?? You’d never do anything wrong!” Fuming with anger, Bobby took forceful, almost pre-determined steps barking out random questions in Tara’s direction.
Tara, wincing with every word, slowly curled into a ball on the floor, and once again let the tears overcome her. This was not how she had imagined her birthday.
Although one fairytale had been wrecked, she had at least thought that her knight in Aussie armour would come to rescue her, but instead, he was too wrapped in his own emotions to actually interact with her.
Tara couldn’t stop crying. She couldn’t stop crying when Bobby finally stopped pacing, and actually released that there was a human being before him. She couldn’t, not didn’t, couldn’t stop pouring her water into the floor when Bobby yanked Jack and Myles to their feet and announced that they were going to find that, son of a b, and teach him a lesson. She simply sat there and cried as the world around her dissolved into tears of there own, and Lucy, Sue, and Deanne simply sat opposite her on the wall, and watched. Sue craved to lean over and embrace her, feel her pain, but instead, she was afraid that Tara would coil even more away. So she clapsed her hands together, and prayed. (Somehow I always think of "Kumbaya" at this moment)
Once again, Tara allowed her tears to engulf her, and pressed as much of her body as possible into the wall space behind her. For that was the only grounding treatment. When you thought that the world was coming to and end, and that you were surely going to go to heaven, you wanted to have another chance on Earth. You wanted to hold on to dear life to anything that listened. And at that point in time, the wall was the surest thing in Tara’s world.
Just a comment about this post specifically: This was supposed to be the “Tara-walking-into-her-building" scene, from the perspective of the team.
BUT, instead I decided to basically ignore what everyone was doing while Tara walked upstairs. Pretend that they were decorating. Imagine! Explore your inner creativity!!
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Tara threw open the door. And cried.
Robbed. She had been robbed. Tara Williams, an agent had been robbed. On her birthday of all days.
Attempting to articulate eyesight through the tickle (not trickle, tickle) of tears that danced across her eyelids, Tara took a heavy, weighted step forward. And suddenly, the world shifted into focus.
Her living room was in shambles. The drapes were haphazardly pulled together with, was that ribbon? Her coffee table contents had been shoved onto her couch, and were replaced with a mountain of cardboard boxes. There was an upside-down banner hanging from the ceiling, but Tara didn’t have the energy or willpower to cock her head to the side to read it. Shifting her weight forward, Tara peered above one of the boxes on the top of the p—
“So when did she say she’d be home?” Tara heard loud, distant voices coming from the direction of her kitchen. Immediately she froze. The robbers were still in here? She slowly crept, toe by toe, to the kitchen door, wondering why in the world the voice seemed so familiar.
She had heard that there was a robber in her neighbourhood recently, parading around with by the name of Kitchen Appliance Victor... or KAV. (Sorry! Had to add that, after read Rerio's "Psychosis and the Single Agent")
The sound of pots and pans in her cupboard jarred Tara from her thoughts, and her hand froze on the door handle.
“Now, where would I keep my cake dish if I was—“
Twisting the door open, Tara threw her small body into the frame of the door way, poised to find the intruder and disarm him.
"Back away from my cake pans!"
“Tara!”
“Tara?”
“Woof!”
Tara?
“Tara, luv?”
The chorus of greetings, all from her team mates (plus Levi!), caught her so off guard, that Tara simply slammed the door shut again and walked slowly backwards until her back connected with her wall, and willingly sank down onto her gluteus maximus. Holding her head in her hands, she forced herself to breathe, in and out, in and out, out and in, no wait, in and out, that’s better.
Attempting to regulate a proper breathing pattern, Tara didn’t notice as her team mates drifted through the doorway to create an imposing semi-circle around her:
Myles Sue Jack Deanne
Lucy Tara Bobby
“Tara?” Bobby shivered her shoulder against his, hoping to hear a response out of the adorable, troubled agent beside him.
“Wh…what....what’re you all doing here?.... I mean, here here. In my apartment… here?” Tara lifted her head and began to swivel her torso back and forth, concern and feared etched into every crease of her forehead.
Jack coughed slightly, and raised his right hand, sheepishly.
“It’s a funny story, actually. See, we had this idea-” Clutching his side, Jack recoiled from the elbow in the side he had received from both Sue and Deanne.
Hi-fiving each other, Sue and Deanne turned to Tara, and began to slowly explain how they had been decorating her apartment. They explained the preparation, the whole “Bobby-just-broke-into-your-apartment” factor, and how they were just searching for a cake pan for the finale.
“You weren’t exactly to be home, now,” Myles muttered, clearly dissatisfied with the situation, his wonderfully, meticulous plan foiled by the birthday-girl herself.
“Yeah! I thought you went out to lunch with Steve,” Lucy said, bending down to kneel beside Tara, joining Bobby at her side.
“Tara? Is everything okay” Sue looked to Jack to see if Tara had muttered anything under her breath, but Jack remained silent, searching Tara’s face.
Tara slowly raised her head, facing Sue, so she could read her lips best, hand still covering her cheek.
“Something went---“ Tara broke off, stuttering against her own tongue, and sheepishly coughed into her chest. Raising her head again, Tara cleared her throat and tried again.
“Something went… wrong.” Tara let her hand slide, like ice on a winter rooftop, from her cheek, lingering carefully at the base of her collarbone before plummeting like a teardrop into her lap.
Immediately, Lucy gasped and reached her hand out slowly, within inches of Tara’s face, as though torn between comfort and fear. Tara turned her head downward, ashamed of what she had brought on to her self.
For about the kajillionth time that day, Tara was jerked around, but now it was in the direction of her true love, as he roughly grabbed her chin and forced it to the side.
As soon as Bobby saw the GNUSMAS mark imbedded into her cheek, he dropped his hand as though it burned and jumped to his feet, pacing within the 3 foot walkway.
“Steve did that?! Steve… “I-Love-You-Tara-Steve” did that to you? What did he do, chuck a cell phone at your face!! For doing what?? You’d never do anything wrong!” Fuming with anger, Bobby took forceful, almost pre-determined steps barking out random questions in Tara’s direction.
Tara, wincing with every word, slowly curled into a ball on the floor, and once again let the tears overcome her. This was not how she had imagined her birthday.
Although one fairytale had been wrecked, she had at least thought that her knight in Aussie armour would come to rescue her, but instead, he was too wrapped in his own emotions to actually interact with her.
Tara couldn’t stop crying. She couldn’t stop crying when Bobby finally stopped pacing, and actually released that there was a human being before him. She couldn’t, not didn’t, couldn’t stop pouring her water into the floor when Bobby yanked Jack and Myles to their feet and announced that they were going to find that, son of a b, and teach him a lesson. She simply sat there and cried as the world around her dissolved into tears of there own, and Lucy, Sue, and Deanne simply sat opposite her on the wall, and watched. Sue craved to lean over and embrace her, feel her pain, but instead, she was afraid that Tara would coil even more away. So she clapsed her hands together, and prayed. (Somehow I always think of "Kumbaya" at this moment)
Once again, Tara allowed her tears to engulf her, and pressed as much of her body as possible into the wall space behind her. For that was the only grounding treatment. When you thought that the world was coming to and end, and that you were surely going to go to heaven, you wanted to have another chance on Earth. You wanted to hold on to dear life to anything that listened. And at that point in time, the wall was the surest thing in Tara’s world.
por tara, she really could use a hug right now
cath
cath
Drats..I had a long comment all written and lost it when the internet connection blinked, I guess. And now I have to get off the internet, so I'll just write and not quote everything I had previously quoted.
I loved the whole post SH, except I don't think Sue would have just sat there while Tara cried. I think she would have reached out to her.
Now, in my opinion, that's what Bobby should have done; however, I know you don't like "cheesy" and that would have been too easy. So, I'll go along with it now, just so long as it ends up with Bobby making it up to her in a future post!
Also loved:
Waiting for your next post this evening.
Lynn
Oh, yes, I also loved the way you started the post, with Tara thinking she had been robbed and then hearing the robbers in the kitchen. That was great!
I loved the whole post SH, except I don't think Sue would have just sat there while Tara cried. I think she would have reached out to her.
Now, in my opinion, that's what Bobby should have done; however, I know you don't like "cheesy" and that would have been too easy. So, I'll go along with it now, just so long as it ends up with Bobby making it up to her in a future post!
Also loved:
QUOTE
“You weren’t exactly to be home, now,” Myles muttered, clearly dissatisfied with the situation, his wonderfully, meticulous plan foiled by the birthday-girl herself.
This is so like Myles and, for some strange reason that I can't explain, I loved the use of the word "meticulous" in this sentence. It really fits.Waiting for your next post this evening.
Lynn
Oh, yes, I also loved the way you started the post, with Tara thinking she had been robbed and then hearing the robbers in the kitchen. That was great!
I'm glad you liked it! I'm off two write the second last post of the entire fanfic. GASP!
ATTENTION READERS: On a whimsical spur, I just went back to my post and added in a part about Sue at the end of the 2nd last paragraph, and a random post before Tara opens the kitchen door. I wanted to add a few more giggles... at the expensive of a member I barely know... but randomly decided to add.
ATTENTION READERS: On a whimsical spur, I just went back to my post and added in a part about Sue at the end of the 2nd last paragraph, and a random post before Tara opens the kitchen door. I wanted to add a few more giggles... at the expensive of a member I barely know... but randomly decided to add.
A little behind but you create quite a story. You have me intriged from the start
Well, at least she's back among friends and we know they'll take care of her (and Steve grrrr). I'm sure hugs will be passed all around in short order.
kav
kav
QUOTE
She had heard that there was a robber in her neighbourhood recently, parading around with by the name of Kitchen Appliance Victor... or KAV. (Sorry! Had to add that, after read Rerio's "Psychosis and the Single Agent")
Thanks for adding that thought of Sue's. It explains why she doesn't hug Tara. (But, you really didn't need to change it. You could have added it to the next post.)
Lynn
I think Bobby is going to kill Steve! I have to admit I would too! 
Don't worry Tara...he was thinking about your honour...unfortunately guys have to go all macho when they find out their love have been hurt...it's a trait in most men.
Don't worry Tara...he was thinking about your honour...unfortunately guys have to go all macho when they find out their love have been hurt...it's a trait in most men.
aww poor girl needs a bobby hig or maybe a levi hug would do but she needs chocolate too
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