OK...This story has exactly two timelines, one is July, 1998...a few weeks after the events in 'Handyman.' It also deals with Miranda's request from 'Let go'.
I would also like to thank Debbie for all of her help, and the last night chat sessions and to Trinia for putting up with my wild imagination...especially chapter 4.
Iris and the Angel are original characters. Ask first. I'll probably say 'Yes'.
Send all comments to Christa
CHAPTER ONE:
The Beginning of the First Version (July 7, 2001)
 |
Dr. Miranda 'Randee' Roarke took a lasting drag of her cigarette, and snuffed it out in an ashtray. She looked at herself in the mirror.
Her strawberry blonde hair was masked by brown dye. It hid the premature white stripe that was hiking its way from her roots down the back of her long hair. In two months, she'd have to dye it again or let it show.
She loosened the blue tie she wore and put back on the black Armani coat that had been hers for almost 3 years.
"Doctor," said a voice coming down the hall.
Randee looked up.
Trinia, a council sprite, walked down the hall with the request form. "Fisher faxed it over. This is an awfully strange request."
Randee glared and then ran her fingers through her hair. "This is important to me. I only requested this based on my record. I came to Fantasy Island with few objections."
Trinia rolled her eyes. "Your uncle dropped a piano on your head....you really didn't have a choice in the matter."
"Sebastian also killed my family. I sure as hell didn't have a choice about that," Randee answered, maliciously.
Trinia frowned, and sighed deeply. "Rewriting the past is a major violation of the code. You'll be banished to Fantasy Island, just like your father."
Randee frowned. "Then for once I'll be living my life, and not my father's. He served that island for a thousand generations and this was the only thing he ever wanted."
"How do you know that?"
Randee smiled. "Because I'm the host. It's my job to know what they want before they do."
Trinia frowned. "If it doesn't work...it'll end your life."
Randee laughed. "I'm a Demi-God, just like my father and my uncle. I'm not afraid of dying. Dying was the easy part. My manager, Calibane, should have been released years ago. Harry's dead because he took my father's load so I'd have time to learn everything. My life is already over, but my sister never had a chance to start hers."
Trinia closed the file, and looked at Randee. "Go find Angel, in the GA department. She was the bartender the night your sister was 'started'."
"GA department?"
"Guardian Angels." Trinia laughed, walking down the hall. "1998...what a year! I wouldn't want to relive that year for anything."
At the Travel Agency, things were actually quiet:-) and it is July 1998...
"We need some customers," commented Fisher.
Clia groaned in annoyance. "Can't we have one afternoon, not being bothered with anyone?"
"This is our meal ticket. This is our bread and butter...."
Clia got up. "This is annoying. I'm going to check the mail."
At that moment, a woman with dark hair, wearing a white T-shirt, white pants, and a long white coat, walked in. She smiled.
"I got this little note saying that your island needed a bartender," she said, keeping her eyes on Fisher, wheeling him in.
The older man smiled. "It just so happens that we are in need of a new bartender."
Clia rolled her eyes, annoyed, and got the typewriter ready. "Here we go again."
On an island...somewhere near space or time...but a good guess would be in the Caribbean:-)
Cal watched the scene, excited. He felt around for his popcorn box, and then glared at Ariel. She was sitting next to him on the floor, wrapped up in a huge sweater.
"Ya ate my popcorn, Ariel. It's getting like to the best part, and you ate my popcorn."
Ariel glared at him, annoyed by his tone of voice, and the fact that he was interrupting the movie. "Malcolm McDowell's folks kill Daniel Stern, forcing Roy what-his-name to steal Blue Thunder. Cal, you've seen this movie a million times."
"Oh and you haven't." He grinned.
She looked at him, not humored by his lame attempt to make her laugh. "You're not funny, Cal."
He shrugged. "Sorry. Did ya tell him?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know I did, Cal. You had your ear pressed to the door."
Cal nodded, and frowned sadly. "He didn't know what he was saying, Ariel. I mean remember the last time something like that was dropped on him."
Ariel glared. "So it was my fault for telling him that I'm pregnant?" she scolded at him.
Cal was quick to cover. "Of course not." He frowned. "He's a jerk. The very idea..."
"I'm pregnant, stuck in this island, and nobody cares," she started to cry.
Cal hugged her. "Don't worry. You have me and Harry."
This made her cry even more.
Sorry to say...Harry wasn't having much luck either.
"Somehow I pictured myself never giving this speech to my own children, Sir, but safe sex is usually the responsibility of both parties," started Harry, very cautiously.
Roarke shot a glare at him.
Harry frowned. "Well, I'm not the one who got her pregnant. I mean, what can possibly be your problem anyway. You and Ariel are both consenting adults who have mutual interests, and things have been rather pleasant on this island with the two of you together."
"Children were not part of the bargain," Roarke shot at him.
"Oh, I see. Well," he frowned. "Ariel must have planned this all along.
Roarke glared at him, curiously. "What?"
Harry continued. "She must have planned this to ruin your life. She knew that you deliberately forget her birthday. So she got you drunk and into the sack." He folded his arms in front of him daring Roarke to respond.
Roarke's anger subsided. "She should have practiced some...control."
"Right, I'll tell that to the claw marks on your desk," he commented dryly, running his fingers along the indented lines. "If you mean 'birth control', Sir. Somehow I think there's an age where women stop worrying about it....anytime around 197."
"Thank you, Harry. I'm well aware of how old Ariel is? Do you have any idea how old I am? I'm not exactly at the age for children"
Harry walked over towards the door, and turned around. "Sir, children tend to come when you least expect it, and it's always a blessing."
"What's your point, Harry?"
"Talk to her, sir. Nothing good will come out of you two not speaking to each other." with that he walked away.
Cal turned off the television, and looked over at Ariel who was fast asleep on the couch. He spread his white coat over her, and left the room.
A few minutes later, Roarke walked into the room. He was determined not to rehash the argument from before but to rather discuss the situation in a more...controlled manner.
He looked around, and noticed Ariel sleeping on the couch. He walked over, and sat before her on the coffee table. Ariel looked so peaceful. He laid his hand, gently, on her growing stomach, and felt a giant baby kick.
Well, he deserved it, he thought to himself.
He didn't notice the same slender woman, with dark hair, clad in white, standing behind him. She surveyed the scene, frowning. Normally, in a situation like this...she would wake up the mother.
The parents-to-be would talk, and everything would be fine.
The woman sighed. She walked over to the windowsill, and sat down. "Sit right back, and you'll hear a tale...tale of a fateful ship...Why'd I agree?"
"Because you're a sucker, Angel," said a voice beside her.
Angel smiled. "OH...come to see your handy work, Sebastian."
"I'm afraid not. Jezebel sent me here to make sure that you guys do nothing stupid. My niece is a highly stung individual. The idea of this request is obscured."
Angel rolled her eyes, and glared at the ceiling. "You're just pissed because someone thought to review a period of time...involving a few murders you did."
"As for Randee, she's just a kid who got a bad break. I mean at least 'this' is a step in the right direction."
She stopped, suddenly, when she noticed Roarke leaving. Roarke got up, and looked at Ariel. Thinking that the talk could be put off until the morning, he left.
Angel smiled at Sebastian, as she left the room. "Got my work cut out for me. Gotta go."
Ariel wore a pick sundress, and let her hair fall over her shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror, before leaving. It had to have been the power of suggestion, because now she could see the growing bulge of her midsection.
It reminded her of the alien in those ALIEN movies. Ariel shook her head. She seriously had to stop watching movies with Cal.
"The Plane...The Plane," shouted Cal as he rang the bell.
Ariel wished someone would drop that bell into the ocean. It was annoying. She looked at the end of the dock, and spotted her. "Honey, you really shouldn't be here."
The girl turned around, and smiled. She had light brown hair, and clear blue eyes. She was wearing white sundresses, with sandals. "I wanted to see the plane."
Ariel smiled. "How old are you?"
The girl's mouth fixed upward, as she though about it. "You could say I'm 4." She pointed to Ariel's stomach. "Are you fat or just having a baby?"
Ariel smiled, and rubbed her stomach. "I having a baby."
"How old is she?"
Ariel looked at the girl, perplexed. "Well...I guess you could say that she's only 4 too. Four months now."
The moment was interrupted by the noise of the approaching plane. Ariel smiled at her. "You really can't be here."
The girl shrugged. "OK. I guess I'll go play then," she said and started to walk away.
Ariel watched her leave. "Wait...what's your name?"
The girl turned around. "Iris...bye," she said, waving. She ran down the beach, and around a bush.
Angel hugged her. "You did very well. Now go play." Iris smiled, and ran off.
Dawson, a 10-year-old guide wearing a white T-shirt, and shorts with oversized high tops, walked over. "I can't believe that you're sending her to those two. She's too innocent to handle that kind of power."
Angel blew off the comment. "Dawson, you've been playing 'baby-sitter' for too long."
The boy looked at her, cautiously. "Yeah, well...I've kinda of given up hope on doing something different. You know the Tell-Tailor said that you couldn't interfere with their lives."
"Sebastian meant I couldn't mess with their minds. I think Roarke and Ariel should be together."
"What makes you think that you're right?"
Angel took out a pair of binoculars, and looked over to the dock. "History Books."
Dawson shook his head confused.
Back on the pier,
Ariel watched the girl leave. "Iris," she repeated to herself. "That's a great name."
She noticed Roarke, Harry, and Cal making their way down the pier. "We had a small visitor waiting to see the plane."
"Oh," said Roarke. "Scotty isn't letting those pet mice of his on the plane again?"
Ariel frowned. "No, a young guest named 'Iris' wanted to see the plane."
Roarke didn't bother to hide his disgust. "You would think that parents would take a little more responsibility for their children instead of letting them run wild. You would have never seen Miranda acting that way."
Cal and Harry watched the scene, with indifference. Normally this would be amusing, but they knew what was coming next.
"I thought you were going to talk to him," questioned Cal.
"I thought they were going to talk to each other."
"Well, obviously they didn't."
Ariel's anger grew. "You know Roarke, the last thing you should lecture anyone on is Fatherhood. Maybe her father told her mother to get rid of her, because he might loose his precious powers and get thrown off of this damn island." And with that she started to walk back to the hotel.
Roarke followed her.
Harry looked at Cal. "You didn't tell me he said that."
"It was a private conversation."
"You were standing with your ear pressed to the door. How private can it not be?"
Cal smiled. "Harry, we're alone on the pier."
Harry looked as the plane door opened, and guests emerged. "Smile Cal, and fake it."
Both of them displayed toothy grins.
Dawson and Angel watched the scene from the beach. The boy frowned. "I don't know what's worse. The fact that I'm sending a lamb to slaughter on your word alone, or Roarke's attitude."
He sat down on the beach. "Where to next, chief?"
Angel glared. "Back to the hotel, and don't call me 'chief'."
The next morning, Ariel sucked in the air, as she waited for the others to meet the plane. She had been the first out to the pier, for she wanted some much-needed time to herself.
 |
Angel |
Harry fumbled around for the clipboard, and Cal did the best 'host' impression he could think of. "Welcome to Fantasy Island. Unfortunately, Mr. Roarke could not join us today. He had a small family emergency."
"Oh, when do you think that the emergency will be resolved?" inquired one guest.
"Around the time, they ship the kiddie off to college, madam," interrupted Harry."
**************
Ariel stormed into the building, accidentally slamming the door in Roarke's face. She turned around, startled. "I'm sorry." -She sat down on the couch, and started to cry.
Roarke exhaled, deeply. He opened the door, and walked inside. "Ariel, what I said yesterday...ah, didn't come out the right way?"
She stopped crying, and looked at him. "So...you are happy about this baby?"
At that point, Angel appeared in the office. She sat cross-legged on top of the filing cabinet. "Say the right thing," she urged. "Say the right thing."
He stood there, with the bewildered expression on his face.
Ariel's face went from sadness, to anger. "You're not happy about the baby. You're not happy about me having this baby, either. Knew I shouldn't have listened to you before taking this stupid job." She got up and walked out of the room again.
He went after her.
Angel sat back against the wall, from her perch. Dawson pulled a chair over, and smiled. "Ready to give up yet."
Angel glared at the boy. "You know, Dawson, she just found out that she was pregnant yesterday."
"Well so far, you can't keep them in a room together, without him saying the wrong thing and her taking it the wrong way."
She glared, as she slid off the cabinet. "You have no idea what's riding on this, Dawson. Instead of standing there being negative...you might help." And with that she disappeared.
Dawson sighed. He walked out onto the patio, and looked around. He spotted Iris, near the mirror pool playing with the dolphins. Ariel was walking over to her.
That meant Roarke would be in his office...
He turned around, and headed upstairs.
At the Travel Agency, Clia surfed to the weather channel.
The puzzled weather anchor tried to explain the map. "This suddenly appeared on our maps, right around the Caribbean. Scientists are categorizing this as 'Tropical Depression #4' with a strong possibility that it might indeed become a serious hurricane. Since this will in-fact become the first hurricane of the season, we'll be calling this one 'Hurricane Ariel'"
Clia smiled. "Looks like the boss's assistant is expecting."
Clia glared a warning.
He shrugged. "Just as long as we don't have to throw her a baby shower."
"Do people have to throw you a party when you have a baby?" asked Iris, as she threw a piece of fish. A dolphin jumped up and caught it in mid-air.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been pregnant before."
Ariel looked over at the girl, as she tossed another fish to a waiting dolphin. "Did your mommy get a party when she had you?"
The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I know that my daddy wasn't too thrilled when my mommy had me."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Something about being born on an island or something like that. I'm not even suppose to know that there was a problem."
Ariel looked at her puzzled. "How did you find out?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just did."
Roarke looked out over the water, pondering the situation....kinda wondering when a panelist would show up or his superior. Or worse...his brother.
Roarke grinned, sinisterly. He wouldn't mind the island so much if he could get his hands on Sebastian for ...OH, 10 minutes.
First they would tell him that he screwed up, and then they would order Ariel off the island.
He remembered his behavior, when a guest just won't take responsibility for his own actions. Roarke turned him into a baby.
His behavior towards Ariel made that guest look tame. No wonder, Harry was the first one to call him on it.
Dawson poked his head in the door arch. "I know you're expecting someone older, but I hope that I'll do." He walked in, shyly.
Roarke turned around, startled. "Who are you?"
He smiled. "Dawson. Don't have a last name. Not yet, anyway. Too busy, I guess." He walked over to the desk, and hop up in one of the chairs. His feet didn't reach the floor. "Oh...the council isn't coming. They just put someone in charge, and she knows what's going on."
"She?"
Dawson nodded. "Yeah, she. Everything will be all right. It's just up to you, how this is going to turn out."
Roarke looked at the boy, puzzled. "I don't understand. How can this turn out all right..."
"When you think everything is going so wrong? Things tend to work out. I can't tell you anymore because I'm not allowed to. She's the one who does that." He got up, and walked to the door.
"You've gotta a gift, Mr. Roarke. You have something that everyone wants. You have your health. You have a woman that you've been chasing after for centuries..."
Roarke frowned, as he glared at Dawson.
The boy smiled. "What? You didn't think I knew about that too? Someone just added the elements and the right time. Now you're gonna have a baby. My advice to you..."
Roarke looked at him, intently. "Yes."
"Make sure you know what you're drinking next time." And with that he left.
Angel crossed her arms, and looked at the council. "Ya, and since when did you people get so moral?"
Barry glared. "Don't our heads off. We always try to keep a moral fringe on this island "
Angel laughed. "You killed a man whose fantasy was to experience the ultimate thrill. You wreck the marriage of a woman who wanted to be a talk show queen."
"Those people worked out their problems," Barry shot back.
"You're holding a man hostage, based on a crime his brother committed. You allow a man who just plain weird..."
Barry laughed. "Oh, and Roarke isn't?"
"Would you like Sebastian to run island?"
Barry made a face. "Ya gotta a point. I'll leave this up to your discretion"
Harry staggered into the dinning room, and saw Cal already looking half dead on the couch. "And to think that I thought Roarke's job was easy," he said, before slumping into a chair.
"I swear, I'll never say another bad thing about this island, if I can feel my legs again."
Harry looked over at Cal. "You hungry? I'm hungry. Never got any lunch. Kept trying to keep this woman from killing Martha Steward. Then this law student got into a fistfight with Clarence Darrow. Not to forget that some teenybopper complained about getting a bit of frostbite aboard the Titanic. I told her that the other 1500 people didn't complain."
Cal looked up. "F-37. The Jack Dawson Fantasy?"
Harry nodded, half asleep.
"You didn't tell why the other 1500 people didn't complain, did ya?"
Harry shook his head.
"Well, pal. I played both 'Manager', and 'Bottlewasher' today. I think we earned our Christmas bonuses today."
Harry yawned. "That's good."
"Ya think we should get up?"
"Maybe tomorrow," answered Harry, and he started to snore.
The silence was broken, Angel walked into the room. She smiled. "Looks like the Skipper and the Professor are in dreamland." She snapped her fingers, and the two landed in their own beds...not even aware that they moved.
Angel turned. "I'm gonna need this room."
Dawson leaped down the stairs, and ran over to her. "I think I know why he was acting like a jerk towards Ariel?"
Angel stopped, and looked at him. "OK...why is he then?"
"He's scared that they might take Ariel and the baby away."
Angel laughed. "It's a little more complicated then that, Dawson."
The boy sat down on the couch. "What do you mean?"
Angel smiled. "How long have you been 'The Child Guide'?"
Dawson thought. "At least 40 years now. Usually fathers are handing out cigars by now, and planning the kid's college."
"Well, guys are a bit different now. Usually they end up thinking of themselves before anyone else." She walked over to a table, and moved it to the other side of the room.
"He might really just be scared of the council."
Angel frowned. "Well, you'll be glad to know that the council has no intention of going after Roarke for taking a few...liberties. As long as the guests are happy, and learning something from their visits, the council doesn't say a word."
Angel sighed. "Any idea where everyone is?"
"Ariel turned in early. You know about Cal and Harry..."
Angel nodded. "The Poseidon adventure aboard the Titanic."
"Roarke is on the other side of the island, with Iris."
Angel looked at him, and grinned. "Roarke is with Iris? Doing what?"
"Listening to the sunset."
"You're kidding."
The boy shook his head. "Nope. She listens to the sunset, and so does he. Listen, I'm sorry for thinking that with the combined powers of both Roarke and Ariel would be too much for her. She's merging with it rather nicely."
Angel sat beside him, on the oversized couch. "At least one of them is coming out through this without a scratch." She yawned. "She's really listening to the sunset."
"Yup."
"Weird kid," she said, and fell asleep on Dawson's shoulder.
Roarke stood on the cliff, pondering the developments of the day. He had neglected his duties, which didn't matter. Harry sprang into action and covered all fantasies for the day. Cal covered his duties as well as Harry's, and didn't complain once. Roarke smiled. One day would make them appreciate their jobs a little more.
The girl slipped on a rock, and fell down to her knees.
Roarke turned around, and watched as she got up. Both of her knees were bloody, and the girl started to whimper. She got up and brushed her hands off. Roarke startled her. "Young lady, what are you doing here?"
She looked up, startled. "I just wanted to listen to the sunset."
"Listen to the what?"
"I wanted to listen to the sunset. Isn't that why you come up here? To listen to the sunset."
Roarke looked over at the descending sun, and then at the girl. He kneeled down, and lifted the girl from the final rock over to him. "You and I will go back together. I don't need you getting hurt again, all right."
She sniffed, and nodded.
"We'll stop off by the Infirmary to get those knees cleaned up." Roarke smiled. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Iris."
He extended his hand. "Hello Iris, I'm Mr. Roarke."
She smiled, and shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you. What song do you hear when you listen to the sunset?"
He smiled. "Beethoven's 9th."
She frowned, as if to say 'Good Grief.' "I usually hear the song of a thousand angels singing in the distance. It's either that or the theme from 'The X-Files'." She looked at the sunset, and closed her eyes.
Roarke did the same, and strangely...he could hear what she was. The sound came from a pulsating light, and it seemed that millions of angels were singing the sun to sleep.
He opened his eyes, and noticed Iris staring up at him. "What?"
"You've got nice eyes. I bet if you ever have a kid...she'd have great eyes too."
He smiled. "My guess if that they'll probably be more of a brown, then a blue."
She shrugged. "Just the same." And they started to walk back.
Fisher lowered his newspaper. "Should we send flowers, or our condolences?"
 |
Iris |
"They're only minor scrapes, Mr. Roarke. A little perxoide and a bandage will do nicely," spoke Tula, the Infirmary's RN. She took Iris by the hand, and left Roarke alone with Koslov.
"How's your golf game coming along, Albert?"
The doctor lowered his paper, and muttered in German. "I'd like it to be better. How are things going with you?"
Roarke nodded, approvingly. "Fine...Fine. I wanted to discuss something of a sensitive nature with you."
Koslov grinned, sinisterly. "The claws of Fatherhood must be choking you? I mean it's not exactly like this one washed up on a beach."
"I'm more interested in if Ariel can even carry the child. Wouldn't something like that compromise her health?"
Koslov shrugged. "I don't know. Women were having babies long before someone actually thought up the medical profession. Goddesses, now: they were having kids too. Look at Hera and those brats she had."
"Be nice Albert...one of Hera's brats is Ariel's mother."
Koslov frowned. "Aphrodite, huh? You poor man...have her for your mother-in-law?"
"Anyway...we're talking about Ariel and the baby."
Koslov smiled. "The only thing weird about this pregnancy is the fact that she's not having any problems." He knocked on the desk. "Knock on wood. I'd like to see a few normal pregnancies in my lifetime."
Tula yelled from the next room. "You wouldn't know a normal pregnancy if it hit you in the face."
Koslov turned the intercom off. "Face it: Ariel's going to have a baby. Set up the nursery. Throw around some cigars. Have fun. My guess...around the Holidays."
"Can you be at least a little more specific?"
Koslov shrugged. "Give me a break...we are talking about Ariel now. I can't remember the last time I handled a pregnant Greek Goddess."
Roarke sighed. "Thanks anyway, Koslov."
The doctor nodded.
Tula came around the corner, with Iris. "Hey, do you guys know about the hurricane?"
Koslov glared at Roarke. "Tell me you didn't tick her off."
Roarke tried to look as innocent as possible. "Of course not. Why would I do a thing like that?"
He picked up Iris, and walked back to the hotel.
Just as he entered the door, a clasp of lighting made Iris jump. "I thought it didn't rain here."
"It's not the rain."
She walked into the kitchen, and noticed Harry finishing his own breakfast. "Hi Harry, anything left?"
Harry wiped his mouth with a napkin. "The housewife, from Pennsylvania, cooked this. Not bad really, she got into a fight with Martha Steward, yesterday, making crËme brewla."
Ariel's face turned green, and she threw up in the sink.
Harry made a face. "I forgot about morning sickness." He opened the cupboard, and pulled out a box of saltines. "You'll only be able to get these down at least for an hour."
Ariel smiled, wearily. "How do you know so much about pregnancy, Harry?"
The man smiled. "You could say that in a previous life, Obstetrics did rather nicely for me."
Ariel smiled, and pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. "Oh, if only all men were as thoughtful as you. Roarke could take some lessons."
"You two need to seriously talk. I told him that a couple of days ago."
Ariel lowered the bottle. "Excuse me. Roarke talked about me to you?"
"It was more along the lines of I talked and he listened...barely I should add."
Ariel huffed. "Sounds about right."
Harry chuckled. "I even joked that you planned the whole thing."
Ariel glared, maliciously. "Excuse me. You think I planned this."
"Of course not! Roarke wasn't listening to me. He went on that children weren't part of the bargain, and such nonsense."
Ariel slumped down in a chair. "He's right, ya know. I didn't even think I could get pregnant...not at my age, anyway."
"That's what I told him."
At that moment, Tula walked in. "Hey, we got any chocolate yogurt or something. We've got a guest with low blood sugar?"
"We have chocolate pudding," offered Harry, and he went to get her a bowl.
Tula smiled. "How's the mother load coming along, dear?"
Ariel smiled. "I'm ready for it to be over."
Tula smiled. "Roarke stopped by the Infirmary last night. One of the younger guests had skinned her knees. He talked with Koslov about you."
Ariel smiled. "What about?"
"Well, I didn't hear the entire conversation...."
"Then you shouldn't spread gossip," interrupted Harry.
Tula rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Anyway...he wanted to know if you could even carry a child, and if carrying a child wouldn't compromise your health." She smiled. "Isn't he sweet?" She took the pudding and walked back to the Infirmary.
She left Ariel and Harry looking shocked. Ariel started to breathe, heavily, her anger rising steadily.
The wind outside started to blow, and thunder could be heard.
Harry tried to calm her down. "Now Ariel, she just heard part of the conversation. Who knows what was really said?"
She got up, and started to pace. "Oh, I know what was said? He thinks I'm faking it, or worse: he thinks that I planned this all along."
"I doubt that's the case at all. Now this could be a simple misunderstanding."
She glared at him. "Don't patronize me, Harry." And with that she left.
Harry sighed, with worry, and walked over to the door.
Just then the ceiling fan fell to the ground, with a crash. He looked down at the damage. "Oh, here we go again."
Angel got up off the couch, and stared at the note taped to her copy of 'The Angelic Code'. It was from Dawson:
"Angel, I got called back to look after a set of Quints. Iris will be fine. By the way...."
In the background, she could hear Ariel shout for Roarke.
"Sorry for what I said to Roarke."
Angel looked at the note. "Oh no, Dawson. Tell me you didn't."
She ran to the office, just in time to hear the worst of the argument.
"What? You couldn't actually come to me and ask how I was? You had to go to Koslov?" yelled Ariel.
"You weren't being rational at the time, Ariel," Roarke yelled back.
Angel looked upward. "Dawson, what did you say to him?"
Her answer came fast. "And exactly what were in those drinks that night?"
Angel looked at Roarke. "Oh, I'm going to strangle you, Dawson."
"Ready to admit defeat, Angel?" asked Sebastian. He walked out from behind the wall, and smiled at his young associate. "It seems pretty hopeless."
Angel ignored him, and concentrated on the argument.
Ariel was the one who was speaking, almost in tears. "OK, maybe I took advantage of the situation but I didn't set out to trap you into anything? We were together that night, and there was no magic involved. It was just you and I. Don't you believe in us enough to try to make this work?"
Angel was about to snap her fingers, when the Tell Tailor wrapped his arms around her. She struggled, but finally calmed down.
"I don't know what to believe, Ariel," he answered, rather calmly.
Ariel sniffed, absorbing the information. She nodded. "Fine...I quit."
She walked out of the office, past Harry and Cal.
Ariel turned around, and looked at them. "Good-bye," she whispered, and headed to her room.
They looked at each other dumbfounded. Both stood in silence, waiting for Roarke to come out after her, but he never did.
"This is a disaster," she said to Sebastian. She turned to him. "You have no idea what's at stake here!!!"
"You're over emotional, Angel. Why don't you go back, and tell my young neice to forget trying to rewrite history?"
Angel looked at him, coyly. "And what if I don't?"
At that moment, Cal ran in. "Boss, Ariel fell down the stairs."
Roarke ran out, past Angel.
Angel turned. "You unimaginable bastard...your mother should have drowned you when she had the chance."
"Oh, I'm not that bad."
Angel cocked a smile. "I wonder sometimes." And she walked out of the office.
With Cal standing by, Koslov listened to Ariel's blood pressure, and muttered in German to his nurse. Tula frowned. "He says he's surprised that you didn't have a miscarriage with the way your blood pressure is."
Ariel smiled. "Yeah, well stranger things have happened. Harry was quick to get me to my room. He's been great about the whole thing; Cal too."
"Roarke?" said Koslov, in his bad English.
Ariel frowned. "I'm leaving him."
Tula frowned. "You could give it sometime, Ariel. This is like day three of the fall out. Roarke has to get sometime to get use to the idea."
"He practically accused me of raping him on the damn desk. He's not going to need time...he'll need a miracle. I don't need that kind of aggravation. I think I'm old enough to take care of myself and my child."
"It's a big job, Ariel. Where will you go?" asked Cal.
"I'll probably pay a visit to a friend of mine, then plan out from there."
Tula nodded. She turned to Koslov, and motioned him out the door.
Cal leaned over, and handed Ariel an envelope. 'It's the deed to Corinthos Island. I won it in a poker game from the King of Mulan."
Thanks Cal."
He took a breath. "Ariel, by any chance would you consider marrying me?"
"Not even if I were stuck in Hell, Cal, but it's sweet of you to offer."
He smiled, and fluffed her pillow.
Koslov walked out, and smiled at an anxious Roarke and Harry. He muttered in German. "She'll be fine, as long as somebody doesn't aggravate her." He looked at Roarke and frowned.
"Is she still determined on leaving?"
He shrugged. "She definitely needs sometime to herself otherwise you can forget that baby. She'll miscarry."
Harry looked over to the stairs, and noticed a little girl creeping up the stairs. "Excuse me. Can I help you?"
Roarke turned around, and smiled at Iris. "Dear, this is not the place for children."
"Someone said that Ariel had an accident. I just can to see her."
Roarke looked at Koslov. "Well, how about it?"
Koslov smiled, and nodded.
"How about him?" asked Iris, pointing to Roarke.
Koslov shook his head, so the girl headed into the room by herself.
She pushed the door, back and popped her head in. Ariel smiled. "Hey cutie. What are you doing here?"
Iris ran in and crawled on the bed. "Someone said you were having a tea party on the stairs, so I came to see if I could join.
Cal smiled. "It was more like ass over a tea kettle," he said. Tula elbowed him in the ribs.
Iris looked at him, frowned, then looked at Ariel. "Mr. Roarke looks pretty worried. He's the daddy, right."
Tula huffed. "When he wants to be."
Ariel glared. "Yeah. Hey, will you do me a huge favor?"
Iris nodded.
"I'm going to go on a little trip, and I was wondering if you could watch Mr. Roarke for me...make sure he stays out of trouble."
Iris's face fell, and she seemed disappointed. "When will you be back?"
"Good question, Ariel. When ya going to come back?" interrupted Cal.
Ariel looked at him, then Iris. "I don't know."
Harry paced around the room, and then looked at his watch. "Time to do the backstroke with the Titanic junkie.
He looked at Roarke, disappointed. "For god sake, sir. Don't do anything else stupid like give her an aneurysm or something"
Roarke sat back in the chair with his arms crossed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you Harry?"
"Watching you destroy the one person you love is not enjoyable, sir. It's a dammable Greek Tragedy" He snapped his fingers, and disappeared.
Roarke got up and walked to the door. He wanted to open it, and tell Ariel that he was sorry for his behavior...but something made him stop. He looked at the door, angry. How could she actually do that to him? Make him that vulnerable to her?
He was upset over her, and that was the last thing he needed.
"Why don't you just admit it?" said a voice from behind him.
He turned around to see a woman with dark hair, wearing all white. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Why don't you just admit that you're heads over heels for that girl?"
"In other words?" he said, cocking a smile.
She frowned. "This isn't one of the fantasies, Roarke. This is very serious. This is a matter of life and death. This will affect the outcome of things to come for years."
"Don't you think you're over dramtizing things a bit," he turned from her, and looked at the door.
Angel looked at him, bewildered by such an answer. "Do you think you're so above this that it doesn't matter when some girl falls in love with you...you don't have to respond?" She laughed.
She got up, and opened a window. He watched her actions, with curiosity.
Angel tossed the book out the window.
As it sailed through the air, the book turned into a dove, and flew away.
Roarke looked at the dove, and looked at Angel. "You're 'She'...the one Dawson was talking about."
Angel snickered. "Dawson...I plan to strangle Dawson when I see the boy again." She walked over to a table, and pushed it against a couch, and switched the pillows on the couch.
Roarke watched her actions with curiosity. "What are you doing?"
"It looks better that way," she answered. Angel looked at his confused expression. "What do you care? You never pay attention to these small details. Ariel always paid attention to such things."
Angel plopped down on the couch, and smiled. "Hope you don't have any prior engagements for at least the next 5 months."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you later." She snapped her fingers and they both disappeared.
Ariel walked the stairs late the next morning. Breakfast was probably over with, but she was hoping maybe to get something to eat.
Angel looked at Roarke, as his back was turned to the door. She couldn't believe it. All her work was out the window, done by a 10-year-old who wasn't even born yet.
 |
Angel dropped the contents of blueberry Kool-Aid, into the blender, and started it. The ice crackled as the mixture turned into blue slush. Cal looked at the drinks. "Ya planning on serving that stuff."
Angel stopped and glared at him. "I will have you know, Calibane, that this concoction has lead to great lives."
"That is if they didn't die of alcohol poisoning, first." He grabbed his tray. "See ya later, Angel. One day, you'll explain to me how you got to be the new bartender." And he left.
She smiled. "I would, but you'd never grasp the concept," She said.
Angel poured the mixture into the two glasses, as Roarke walked over and took a seat. "Tell me what this proves."
Angel smiled. "I first would like to disprove a theory my collogue told you...that you might have been drugged. I made the drinks that night, on March 25th. It's four moths into the past."
"Dawson should have said' pay more attention to who's serving you'."
She pulled out a green bottle with a white label, a bottle of vodka, and a blue packet. "Kool-Aid, vodka, and orange juice: nothing magic about it. Just the college equivalent of getting drunk. Should I explain where babies come from or do you get the idea?"
He took one of the drinks and sipped it. "You're not funny."
"Neither are you."
Cal walked up. "Angel, phone call for you. Sounded urgent." He walked off to join another guest.
Angel rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Not now." She smiled at Roarke. "Don't do anything foolish." And she walked off.
Roarke watched her leave, and then looked around remembering the night. If he had the time right, in about 5 seconds...
"Roarke," said a beautiful, musical voice. He turned around, and saw Ariel wearing her gray shift dress. She was wearing that in the morning, but he pretended not to notice the dress.
'What did he say at that moment?' he thought. "Oh, yes."
"My dear, you have never looked more lovely."
Angel looked at the flustered writer. "What do you mean we've been canceled? This can't be happening!"
The young council member looked like she was about to cry. "Don't yell at me. They're cutting back because someone said that a person from the future was here."
Angel faked a smile. "Gee...how could that happen?"
The girl wasn't listening. "Barry is in like denial, and we're loosing people. How can things go from bad, to promising to dead in a month's time?"
Angel set a reassuring arm on the scared councilor. "Think of it this way, the events from now until...whenever...shall happen exactly as they have happened before. If there is a difference in the time stream: it's anyone's call."
The writer looked at her, confused. "So shall it be written...it shall be done. By the way, I'm Lotti Kordova."
"Know anyone else whose willing to stay?"
"There's Trinia, Jezebel, Debbie, Jennifer, Margot, Lady G, Lwaxanne, Mary Ann, Mrs. P, Lavette, and me."
"Well...get them here...Quick!"
(Back at the bar:-)
"And to think we never actually did this until now," said Ariel, basking in the glow of Roarke's crystal blue eyes.
"Why didn't we?"
Ariel laughed. "You had a schedule, and never got the hint."
"Hints? There were hints?"
Ariel moved a little closer. "Roarke, if I made any more obvious. I'd have to sky write it."
"Somehow, I don't think that would have worked," said Roarke. They both laughed. "Somehow I think it's the drinks."
Ariel looked at her empty glass. "Why not? Not to mention it's a special night. Its not every year a girl turns 197."
"Ariel?"
"Yes?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"Does it look like I'm going to stop you?"
Inside the wine cellar, Harry was counting all the fermented bottles. "Cal, we're missing two bottles. Where'd you put them?"
Cal looked hurt. "Why do you always suspect me?"
"Because it's always you, and because you drank the bottle I gave you to begin with."
"I stored two under the bar. Dammit.."
"What?"
"I forgot to tell the new bartender that they were there. She was mixing drinks a while ago."
"You don't think...." And they both ran to the bar.
Angel knocked on the door. "Barry, you're going to have to come out sometime."
"I'm never coming out again. Why'd I even attempt this?"
"Because it was a good idea. People love that island, and no one's going to take this lying down."
At that moment, the 'Tell-Tailor' appeared. He smiled. "Barry, think of your show as this."
He took out a small bugle, and started playing 'Taps.'
Barry opened the door, and looked at the spirit. He turned to Angel. "Who's that idiot?"
"My boss. I think he's Roarke's brother. Can I have a transfer?"
Barry shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Get back to the island. There's work to be done," with that he shut the door.
Angel smiled at the spirit. "Put a cork in it, 'Tell-Tailor'." And she walked away.
Suddenly a large cork appeared in the bugle, and the spirit disappeared.
Somehow, Roarke got the door open with one hand to snap, and the other keeping Ariel pressed to his lips, knowing full well that she wasn't going anywhere.
He twirled her into the office, and was about to shut the door when Cal came running down the hall....
"Boss...Boss. Just wondering if you drank a weird mixture that the new bartender made. She got one of the ingredients wrong. Harry and I are looking for her."
Roarke looked at his employee, and was about to send him through a wall, when his better sense got a hold of him. "Cal, I leave it to your capable hands. Right now, mine are full."
"But Boss, if anyone got a hold of that stuff...they could get sick off of it."
That's what we have a bloody infirmary for. Good Night, Cal," and with that he slammed the door.
Cal looked at the door, puzzled. "Guess he's got a hot date or something?"
Roarke quickly made his way across the room to Ariel's waiting arms, and began to kiss her passionately. Ariel wrapped her legs around him, and began to kiss his mouth.
He swiped off the desktop, with barely a touch.
"There you are," exclaimed Harry, as Angel walked back to the bar. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
Angel cocked a smile. "Not really, but you're gonna tell me."
"Those Blue Screwdrivers you created didn't have orange juice in them."
Angel glared at Harry. "OK, so what did they have in them?"
"Fermented wine." He handed her the bottle.
"Bad wine," she repeated laughing. "You're kidding, right? You mean it was the drinks?"
"Of course it was the drinks." He stopped. "What are you talking about?"
Angel looked towards the main building. "Nothing. Listen, you're right to be angry with me. If anyone else had drunk the stuff...we're talking major alcohol poisoning.
"Well, then who drank them?"
Angel yanked on Harry's arm, as the desk lamp came flying out the window. It landed on the spot where Harry was standing.
He looked at the young woman. "Well..."
"Roarke and Ariel," she said and started laughing. "Think you'll have to go back to K-Mart and get a new lamp." With the she walked away laughing.
Roarke sat Ariel on the desktop: his lips pressed against hers like dew to a rose. He removed a diamond hair comb, and allowed her hair to fall along her shoulders.
Ariel placed her hands against his chest, and ripped the shirt off of his confined body, kissing his chest.
Her chest heaved, and fell lightly, as he undid the zipper from her dress, letting the top hang loosely against her shoulders.
Her arms closed in around his waist pulling him to her, urging him closer.
He held her back in his arms, with his hands pressed against her shoulder blades, laying her back on the desk. With a gentle hand, he closed her eyes. She pressed her fingers down the spine of his back around both sides until they rested on his belt.
With a flick of the wrist, the belt loosened. She tossed it up in the air, and it landed against the door.
At that moment, Harry walked down the hallway and heard a noise. He stopped and listened again. Hearing nothing, he shook his head and continued down the hall.
As he moved her underwear down her tan legs, she gasped in between his kisses.
She pulled him to her face, and murmured. "Take me now or loose me forever."
"Losing you is not an option," he whispered softly into her ear.
At that minute in time, he entered her as their eyes meet, knowing that they'd always be together through the dawn of time.
She instantly wrapped her legs around his waist and intertwined her hands on his head.
Roarke held her in his arms, fearing that this moment would be taken away or if it indeed were a fantasy. He lifted her from the desk, and while never taking his mouth off of hers, he laid her on the couch.
Angel walked over to the water's edge. She took a seashell out of her pocket and laid it on the ground. She blew gently on it, and back away.
It spun around, until Iris popped out. She stepped out of the shell, and smiled. "Are you sure I can even be here?"
"Ya just got started about 45 minutes ago, so quit complaining."
The girl frowned. "I'm not complaining. I'm only observing."
Angel frowned, and tapped her foot. "Well?"
"Well, what?"
"How are things going back in regular time back on the island?"
"Oh, well, F-37 has taken off completely, although Cal tends to sink the ship too fast. Right now, an actual Titanic buff is having fun on the ship, although she really hates the corsets and some guy named 'Leo'."
"Oh, so what else is going on?"
Iris frowned. "I don't know. Last night, the lady and Harry were doing the mambo on deck, right before Cal rammed the ice burg into it."
Angel frowned. "I meant with Ariel."
"Oh, she left already?"
"She couldn't have left already. We've only been gone..." she checked her watch.
"Three months,"
Angel frowned. "That means only two more months."
Iris smiled. "That's right. Means that if you don't get this to work...I can blame you for my dysfunctional life
Angel glared. "You're not funny."
"Just wait until I hit 13," she laughed, walking back over to the seashell. With a twitch of her nose she disappeared. "I'll end up on the 'Jerry Springer Show'...married to Cal."
Angel wrinkled her nose, and disappeared.
It wasn't long before his pants were across the floor, and Roarke shimmied the dress over Ariel's head.
(Since we started in July...this is September)
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and all that other stuff, tossed the metal bowl into the sink. "Who gave you this island?"
Ariel sighed. "Cal, Mother. Of course he first asked me to marry him, but I said no."
"Why the hell not?"
Ariel looked at her, shocked. "Mother, he's a jerk. I mean he's sweet when he wants to be, and then half the time he's an over-obsessed over-sexed jerk."
Aphrodite looked to her daughter. "Turn him into a boulder like I showed you?"
Ariel sighed. "Yes, Mother."
"Good girl."
Aphrodite smiled. "Oh, by the way. Your sister's coming."
"Mother!"
"Well, you can't expect to be pregnant on Arry Onasis's island, and not expect your family to show up." The woman walked over and pinched her cheeks. "At least, I didn't tell your brother. He might have asked his girlfriend along."
"Last thing I need right now, Mother, is a pep-talk from Cupid."
"Ariel, you cradle-robber," said Andromeda as she walked in. "Couldn't you have at least waited until he was out of the double-digits range."
"I will have you know that Roarke is older then Mom."
Aphrodite wiped her hands on a towel. "And you did what with him again?"
Andromeda dropped her bag on the floor. "Please! Prospero Roarke is only 55 Earth years old."
"His first name is Prospero?"
Aphrodite glared at her daughter. "You slept with a man, and you didn't even know his first name."
"Well," started Ariel. "How many guys did you seep with Mother, and didn't even bother to get their last names?" She got up, and walked out of the kitchen.
"Now just a minute young lady..." said Aphrodite, walking after her.
Andromeda watched them go. She walked over to the mixing bowl full of chocolate icing. She snapped her fingers and a Strawberry appeared.
With the ease of a hand, she whipped up a healthy portion of the icing onto the berry. "More then I ever did, either."
She sniffed the air. "I smell a do over job." Andromeda turned around quickly, and stared at a woman, with long brown hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a black suit.
Andromeda smiled. "About time you showed up, Randee."
 |
Andromida |
"How could you? The fundamental basis of time and space is that everything is done by the book. You change the past...you affect the future."
Randee looked at Andromida and smiled. "That's the idea. I don't know if anything will change...maybe it will. But how can I do through the rest of time knowing that I didn't even try?"
She glared. "That is such bull. What's the real reason?"
Randee took a small black book out of her pocket, and handed it to Andromida. "Dad was devastated by Ariel's and the baby's deaths. This was his fantasy."
"And yours."
Randee sighed, and leaned against the cupboard. "Brad, my husband, got remarried."
"To my best friend Lisa Carlson. They have three kids now."
"How can they have three kids...you've only been dead 2 years."
"She had a set of twins and then another baby," said Randee.
Andromida frowned. "Well that sucks. I still say give Angel sometime."
Randee turned around, crossed her arms in front of her, and glared. "Considering the fact that if this actually works, I will be seriously in trouble for screwing with time..."
Andromida frowned. "Time is the fire in which we burn."
Randee made a face. "What's that suppose to mean?"
Andromida shrugged. "I heard it in a Star Trek movie, and always wanted to say it. It means that if anything does wrong...you'll burn in time."
Randee sighed, heavily.
"You're going against a lot of people to pull off this. You still sure, Miranda?"
Randee backed down. "My father told me that to be a good 'Fantasy Guide' you know what the fantasy is before the guest does." She nodded.
"Christmas is the dead line, then it's my turn. If I'm gonna be in trouble for screwing with time then I want it done my way." and with that she disappeared.
Andromida sighed, and Ariel waddled back in with her mother at her heels. "Ariel, I think you should call Roarke."
Aphrodite cut off Ariel's answer. "Hell no...if he wants to talk to Ariel, he knows where to find her."
Ariel shrugged, sadly, and waddled to her room.
Aphrodite glared at her youngest. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"Let's see. Trying to get my sister and her true love together. Sounds kind of like your job, mother." and she walked after Ariel.
"Oh...isn't that nice," she answered sarcastically.
(OK....back to the island, after 'the night'-ya know, the one back in March)
Roarke watched the sun break in through the window, and could see Ariel sleeping next to him. Her presence was a reassurance to him that the previous night has not been a dream. He kissed her neck.
The feathery touch didn't rouse her, for she was always a heavy sleeper...especially after getting a bad drink.
Angel appeared at the top of the filing cabinet, totally engrossed in the bartender's handbook. "Harry wants me fired. You almost killed him with that lamp, by the way."
Roarke turned around in surprise at her presence. "What are you doing here?"
Angel never put down the book. "Trying to learn how to make a Long Island ice tea." She turned the page. "Opps, Blue Screwdrivers are actually 'Purple Passion'."
She looked around the room. "Looks like you guys had a little passion thing going on in here." She laughed. "Learn anything I should know?"
Roarke put the rest of his clothes on, as Angel told him that the bad wine had actually made one of Aphrodite's love potions. "My ex's mother would be so thrilled." She rolled her eyes upward, annoyed at the thought.
She snapped her fingers, and they both appeared on the beach.
Angel smiled. "You learn anything from that little experience?"
"What was there to learn?" he asked, too callously for her taste.
Angel glared, angrily. She snapped her fingers, and the book disappeared. She carried a Steno pad in her hand, and flipped it open with one toss. A note fell out: she picked it up, scanned it and stuck it in her pocket.
"Let's see. First Ariel came into your office, a little worried. She commented on your 'desk top gymnastics', and how that night would always mean something to her.
"You, of course, acted like a big jerk, with an ego, and had a stupid grin on your face."
"Then she landed the whopper, about how she didn't know that this could happen at her age especially but that she was pregnant." Angel ended the sentence with a glare. "Remember what you said?"
Roarke glared, angry about being put on the spot. "I asked if Harry had put her up to it."
"Yes, and she frowned. "Terribly hurt by the way, she tossed the lab results in your hand."
Suddenly the lab results appeared in his hand.
"And then your worse nightmare came true, and you told her...a Greek Goddess that a baby was a bad idea for the both of you." Angel frowned. "She loved you then, but that was a sucker punch, Roarke."
Angel started to walk up the beach away from him.
"I was worried about her health, Angel."
She turned around. "You were worried about your damn island, and your powers, so don't give me that crap."
Roarke walked up to her. "I will provide for Ariel and the child."
Angel glared. She was getting frustrated with him. "What about you? They'll need a little more then material possessions, Roarke. They need you. Aren't you even sorry for what you said to her then?"
Roarke frowned. "At the time, I was upset."
Angel glared. Finally she threw her hands up. "Forget it! I've had it, Roarke. I'm leaving you. I don't have to be here. The child will be born certainly without my help." She started to walk back to the hotel.
"Angel, where are you going?"
Angel stopped and turned around. 'I've got a shift at the bar that starts in 10 minutes. I suggest you find Cal and to get a map of where Ariel is." She turned around and started back. "Not that Ariel would take you back after all this."
Angel walked past 'The 'Tell-Tailor', as she made her way to the bar. "Oh God, what do you want?"
"Came to see the defeat."
"Not a defeat, Sebastian...it's changing of the guards. Oh by the way, you know that contract you have with the Gods."
"Yes."
"I'd go check it."
He frowned at her, and disappeared.
Roarke barged into his office, and glared as Harry sat, soaked to the skin wearing old handcuffs on his wrists, mulling over the quarterly budget.
Roarke grinned. "Excuse me. I thought that this was my office."
Harry looked up, startled, and sneezed. "Sir, you're back. May I ask where you've been for the last three months?"
"No," he answered, looking at his watch. "Also that new bartender, Angel...we're not going to fire her."
"We're not?"
"No."
Harry shrugged. "All right, sir. Would you like to go over the budget, now?"
Without hesitation, Roarke declined. "Have you seen Cal? I need to find Ariel."
Harry couldn't suppress his smile. "Wonderful, Sir. She's on Corinthos Island. Her mother and younger sister are also there."
Roarke made a face, disgusted, and left.
Harry smiled, and closed the ledger. "This might work after all."
Sebastian ran across his office floor, and pulled his painting of William Shakespeare off the wall. A small safe was revealed. He quickly did the combination, and opened it.
To his horror, the parchment scroll contract was gone.
Young Lotti walked into the council room, exhausted. Everyone turned to look at her. "Well," asked Trinia. "Did you get it?"
Lotti held up the scroll as it rolled onto the floor. "I hate being the youngest out of ya all. It's no fair."
"Who said life was fair," commented Lwaxanna, and started to read the scroll. "Let's get 'Legal' on this. Just how long can we keep Roarke and them on the island due to the work of Sebastian?"
Trinia nodded. "Either way, we need to let this play out. Miranda's got to learn that you don't try to rewrite history.
Lotti frowned. "Excuse me, the agreement is that while they try to change the past. It has to go along the guidelines of what happened before. If anyone changes the timeline significantly, then anything can happen."
"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. P, as she walked by.
"If Angel convinces Roarke to change his mind...or have him feel differently-then that's OK. If something happens like Ariel falls off a cliff, then we have a problem."
Lwaxanna laughed. "Let's just make it so that if such a thing like that happens, then it's just to the Gods to fix it. I mean we're just the council looking after Roarke. We're no more then sprites."
At that moment, Jennifer ran in. "Hey, I found a copy of Caligula!"
Everyone cheered.
Roarke ran across the lawn to the pier.
Down at the pier. Amelia flipped through a magazine as Scotty worked on the plane. "I tell you, Amelia. This is gonna take at least another day."
"Scotty, you don't get this plane fixed now. You won't have another day to live." She saw Roarke coming and stood up.
"Scotty, get this plane moving," Roarke yelled.
Scotty glared, but when he noticed Roarke-he lost his footing and fell into the water.
The plane started up, automatically.
Amelia smiled. Let me guess. A small trip to pick up your pregnant love."
"Don't suppose you can break out of Fantasy Island's air space."
Amelia smiled. "Hey, I'm one of the greatest women pilots in the 20th century...get it."
Aphrodite sat on the couch, flipping through a spell book as Andromida approached her, cautiously. "Mother, I know you're upset about me suggesting Ariel call Roarke..."
Aphrodite slammed down her book. I don't wanna talk about it. Your sister is not going to see or have anything to do with that man for the rest of time. Is that clear?"
Andromida smiled. "Of course, Mother." She opened the door, grabbed Roarke's arm and pulled him in.
Aphrodite looked up. "Annie, who's that?"
Andromida sighed. "Mother, I can't lie. It's Malcolm McDowell." She smiled, and shoved him into the kitchen.
Aphrodite just shook her head, and returned to her book. "Oh, by the way, Hades dropped the dog over."
Andromida stood glaring at the two-headed demon dog, which snarled and growled. "Thank you for warning me, Mother."
Roarke watched the dog, anxiously.
Aphrodite called from the next room. "You wouldn't be trying to sneak that odious Mr. Roarke in here, now would you?"
"Of course not, Mother." She pointed him down the hall. "How could I possible get anything by you."
Ariel sat back on the grand four poster bed, with white comforter and gold trim...on of the few possessions she had always dragged around with her, even to the island.
Andromida had found her and Ariel's baby books in an old chest, and had brought them with her.
So Ariel sat leafing through the worn parchment pages, wondering if her baby would actually know her own father. Ariel never had that luxury.
Ariel turned another page, and sighed. "Like mother...like daughter."
Off in the distance, she could hear in a familiar voice. "No, Ariel. For once you're nothing like your mother. Second..."
She got off the bed, and opened the door.
Roarke's smile warmly greeted her, and she smiled. "Second?"
"I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again."
Ariel smiled, as she felt tears coming down her eyes. Roarke picked her up in his arms.
Andromida smiled at the underworld pooch. "Doggie want a cyanide pill."
"Won't do any good. It would send the thing back to Hades in a flash," said Randee, coming out of a wall.
The dog turned and wag it's tail happily for her.
Andromida scoffed. "Great...it hates me...but likes you. So what now?"
Randee looked down the hall. "Are they back together?"
Andromida looked. "Well...no fans coming out of the ceiling. It's probably safe. Congratulations, you're half way there."
Randee looked down the hall. She pulled a scrounge out of her pocket. "I have an appointment with the Zendowskys in 10 minutes. They want to experience an ocean sailing on the QE2."
Andromida snickered. "Wow...something original. So what's the real motivation on the boat?"
"She's trying to get pregnant, and he's still in love with his ex-wife. She's also on the boat with her spouse."
Andromida made a face.
"Angel decided to let me have a try," stated Randee.
"Sounds like Angel. What she forgot how to tie her shoe, and decided she couldn't cut it in the love department?"
"No, I left her a note saying that I wanted to take over."
Andromida smiled. "Fine. I think it's time for the other half."
"Perfect," she answered. Randee closed her eyes, and pointed to Roarke and Ariel. The trio disappeared.
Andromida sat down in a kitchen chair again and sighed. "Good luck, niece, for this is where you go against your uncle."
Back in the Kitchen,
 |
Miranda |
Randee walked through the black void of her space, and listened to the wind. She heard footsteps approaching, and opened her eyes.
"Uncle Sebastian?" she replied, rather coldly.
"Niece. I don't believe I've ever really laid my eyes on you."
The 'Tell Tailor' took her chin in his hand, and looked at her features. "You must take after your mother. You don't look anything like Prospero."
"I was washed up on the beach after a ship wreck...the only survivor. You could say I was adopted."
Her uncle let go of her chin, and grinned. "You take after him though. All spit fire and grit: did he ever tell you why I had him banished to that infernal rock?"
"It was never the thing a daughter would ask," she commented, never taking her eyes off of him.
He smiled. "Just like a Roarke...always prim and proper. He stopped my plans, so I sent him to that prison."
Randee thought that she would be shocked at the revelation, but she huffed, disgusted. "Thought as much. An excuse like that is so tiresome. Mind if I ask what your plans were?"
"Riches, dear child. Royalty and fame...you see a certain title was to be mine and I deserved it."
"So you framed him for murder....who was it?"
Sebastian thought for a moment, grinning like a chesire cat. "Your mother."
The news knocked Randee back, and left her gasping.
"The Gods, on the other hand, knew that I committed the crime, and made a deal with my dear brother," he announced disgusted.
"Roarke can work his way back by working on Fantasy Island." He laughed. "And now you're working here. Isn't that wonderful?"
Randee frowned. "So is that why you fouled up my father and Ariel's relationship...revenge? Lousy excuse: I suppose you're the one to blame for Ariel and Iris's deaths."
Sebastian sat down and smiled. "Why are you trying to stop the future, Miranda? Let the past be the past and forgotten."
Randee walked over to him, smiled callously, and bent down to face him. "Because Uncle, I can't sleep. I wake up every night hearing my sister cry. My father is no where around, and neither is Ariel. You killed Harry, and now Calibane is the only family I have left, and he misses everyone too."
Sebastian laughed at her. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"I want you to die. I want you to feel the pain that I have for the past 4 years. I want you to suffer, as I have. If it causes me to lose my powers, or even if it kills me....you are going to pay." She snapped her fingers, and disappeared.
Cal and Harry looked off at the setting sun. Iris sat in between them, as she had for the past three months.
"Harry, I still think that it'll be a boy. I mean this is Roarke's kid, we're talking about here. Besides he's already gotta a girl."
Iris snickered. Harry shrugged. "Ariel thinks that it'll be a girl. But she isn't going for that pink everything craze. The nursery's been decorated in lavender. She's really going out for this first Christmas thing."
Cal looked down at Iris. "What do you think?"
"I have it on very good authority that it's a girl."
Cal huffed. "What do you know? You're just a kid."
Iris looked at her watch. "I've gotta be going. I'll see you guys later." And she ran off.
Harry smiled. "Who would have thought of giving a nine year old a watch?"
Cal looked at him, confused. "I thought she was four." He looked at his own watch. "Speaking of time, we better get back, too."
Roarke walked over to the bar, as Angel sat reading from a book. "Don't tell me that you're still reading the bartender's handbook?"
Angel set it down and smiled. "Of course not. It's called 'Maximum Bob'...very enlightening."
She picked up the water nozzle and sprayed behind her. "Lay off the eggnog, Fisher!!!!"
Down at the travel agency, Fisher wiped the water off of his face
Clia couldn't stop laughing. "I told you."
"I'm past being annoyed at that bartender."
Angel set the book down, and smiled at Roarke. "OK...what's your pleasure?"
"Tea...Earl Gray. Light on the Caffeine," he said, but with a heavy tone.
Angel smiled. "Oh...someone's getting no sleep I take it." She laughed. "Who's more calm? You or Ariel?"
"She just sits there with a smile on her face," he whined.
Angel let out a laugh.
"I'm a nervous wreck. I just want it to be over. A million things can go wrong. Sure...she's been fine except for that fall down the stairs, but there are a million things like Pre-Klampsia..."
"Has Koslov been letting you read those medical journals again?"
Angel picked up a tube, filled it with Eggnog, and sent it down the shoot.
Roarke barely heard her, and started ranting off about every problem he could think of. Angel finally set a teacup in front of him, and poured the tea, along with a shot of bourbon.
Roarke took a sip. "Bourbon?"
"Hey, I'm an angel...I'm not a Saint. Listen, you have Koslov around, and you have the one of England's best OBs. Well, at least he was before he got hit by a car, in New York."
Angel looked at her watch. "By the way, it's time."
Ariel sat up in her bed, with a fright. A sheer kick, and a sharp pain had awaken her and told her that her pregnancy was finally coming to an end.
The blood, on the sheets, told her something was seriously wrong. She pulled herself to the side of the bed, and grabbed the phone. "Yeah, Tula. Something's wrong."
Tula moved some files around, on the desk looking for Ariel's file.
"Are you sure, Ariel? Not all women deliver their first baby on time."
Ariel rolled her eyes. "Tula," said calmly. "I'm bleeding." She dropped the receiver and passed out.
"Any ideas for names?" asked Angel.
"I always fancied the name of 'Iris'." he answered.
"Interesting," she smiled. "Seldom rare, and strangely favoring a certain young guest."
He smiled. "Guilty as charged. So where are you going for Christmas?"
"Clia and I were thinking of going to Las Vegas."
Isn't that a little brash?"
Angel smiled. "Not at all, and don't give me one of your 'seeing the error of my ways' speeches-If I wanted one of those, I'd still be working for as a Guardian Angel."
"Besides, unlike Cal and Harry, Clia and I are here forever....that's why she flirts with lung cancer and I drink too much."
Suddenly, one of the nurses ran to the bar, out of breath and with her scrubs soaked in blood. "Mr. Roarke, something's wrong with Ariel."
"What's wrong?"
"Ariel called Tula to say that she was bleeding, and that the baby was coming. Then Ariel passed out. Koslov's been trying to do everything, but she's bleeding out."
Roarke didn't let her finish, but started running to the Infirmary. The frightened nurse followed him.
Angel frowned. "This isn't what happened before."
"Technically no," yelled Sebastian. He emerged from behind the bar, and startled Angel. "Sorry to say I killed Junior Roarke with a vial of Hind's blood."
"Unfortunately for Ariel, the blood cultivated in the baby's system, and the child bled out into Ariel's system."
Angel frowned. "You just killed two Goddesses, with Hind's blood...are you nuts?"
Sebastian smiled.
"Don't answer that."
Sebastian laughed. "I did it before my engineering niece tried to rewrite history." He smiled. "And to think that she fixed the one major part...It'll be a lot harder to kill my dear brother then it was before."
Angel glared. "You killed the baby and Ariel before by just cutting off the air...you've rewritten history.
Andromida looked at Lotti, as she pecked merrily away the keyboard. "Knew it was a good idea to keep you folks." She looked around. "Where's Barry?"
Mrs. P looked at a large white book holding a table leg up. "Oh, he's on a press tour promoting some new western flick." She put the book back under the table.
Trinia walked in, with the scroll. "OK, word from legal is if history is changed drastically, I have to go back for orders."
"Sebastian just killed Ariel and the baby, this time, with Hind's blood," commented Lotti.
Trinia rolled the parchment scroll back up. "Back to legal."
Roarke looked at Ariel's lifeless body, as it laid on the gurney. Blood was still on the floor, although Tula tried to clean most of it up. The baby that both of them had waited anxiously for laid on a table...a bloody shell of a child that never had a chance.
Harry ran in along with Cal. Both gasped at the horror.
"Oh God, boss. This is unreal," started Cal. "She wasn't sick or anything."
"There can be no explanation for it. She was in perfect health. I checked her blood pressure myself," started Harry. "She was completely normal."
Roarke paid no attention to the other two, but focused on Ariel. He tried to connect to her, and urge her to fight her way out of whatever had happen to her. They would have centuries together, and for once...the idea was pleasing to him.
Cal looked on the ground, dabbed his finger in the blood and sniffed. "This is Hind's blood."
"How would you know the difference between regular blood and Hind's blood," started Harry. He sniffed. "What a minute! It is Hind's blood."
Roarke turned around, and looked at the sample himself. "I'll be back. Don't let anyone touch either one of them," and he ran off.
"Hind's blood," started Harry. "You know what that means. The council must have killed her."
Cal shook his head. "I don't buy that. The council always looked for the purity of life here...what's more inviting then a child's smile? After all, they let Miranda stay here for 18 years."
Sebastian sighed and looked around in admiration. "And you thought I couldn't do it."
Andromida played around with her glass of Shlibovitz, and frowned. "I have to admit. You had me fooled. Who would have thought that you would be big enough of a man to kill a baby, and with Hind's blood."
Sebastian smiled, pleased with himself. "Yes, it was a rather ingenious task."
"You don't know much about Hind's blood, do you? You're only a Demi-God. Hind's blood works like acid. You might as well have shot my sister, because you left her in torture and misery. I won't even mention what the baby went through."
She took a long drink, and exhaled deeply. So what's next on the agenda of death?"
Sebastian grinned. "I don't know. This 'do-over' thing is so fun. You get so many choices."
"Unfortunatly you've gotta a little problem. Randee didn't rewrite history...you did."
"Suffocation...death by Hind's blood...what's the difference?"
Andromida looked down at her glass, trying to control her anger. "The difference is everything. I should mention of course that Roarke knows you're here."
Suddenly the door opened, and the brothers looked at each other face to face.
"Sebastian," hissed Roarke. "You killed her, and our child."
Sebastian cocked a smile. "Certainly brother," he said, raising a glass to him. "Oh, by the way, did you have any idea that you're going to die in the next few minutes?
 |
Sebastian |
Randee walked down the hall, keeping her stride up, and trying to avoid a certain Mr. Potzwilder Sr.
"Roarke, I want to have a talk with you," yelled a rather odious man, dragging a four-year-old by the arm.
Randee, stopped, and looked at him, annoyed. "What is it, Mr. Putzwilder?"
"That's Potzwilder," the kid shot at her.
"Shut up, Jerry," she shot back.
"I can't handle this," started his father. "I'm an old man. I can't stick around for another 30 years because your boss decided that my son need a 'do-over'."
Randee smiled. "Sir, I can realize your dilemma, but when my father granted Jerry's fantasy-he also made it perfectly possible that you and your wife would be around to make him see the error of his ways."
"The Jerry that was born to you back in the 1960s would not take responsibility for anything."
"Now not only do you have the opportunity to teach him and help him realize his potential...but you too can live your lives over again."
Jerry's father smiled. Jerry stuck his tongue out at Randee.
Randee's eyes narrowed. "Sir, would you care to stay and enjoy a complimentary fantasy with your wife? My staff and I would be more then happy to take care of little Jerry for you."
Jerry coiled back and looked at his father, who was busy thinking about other things.
Two hours later, Calibane, donned in a tan suit, walked into the office. "Where'd you stick that Putzwilder kid?"
A dog growled from the floor.
"It's Potzwilder, Calibane."
Calibane looked over at the dog, and frowned. "Whatever. Listen, remember when you were thinking of that hair brained scheme to redo the past, and I asked you not to."
Randee sighed, heavily. "Cal, I did it anyway. I couldn't leave it alone. I figured I had nothing more to loose."
"Well, how about the island?"
Randee looked at him, confused. "What? What's the matter with the island?" she got up and walked outside.
The air around the island was shifting, violently, as the sky seemed to be cracking like an eggshell. Randee looked towards the restaurant. The guests seemed not to notice any changes.
Randee did not look back to see Calibane's reaction. She walked back into the office, and grabbed her coat. "Watch Jerry for me, Calibane." And with that she walked into the mist.
Sebastian and Roarke never took their eyes off of each other. The younger brother finally sat down, and put his feet up much to Roarke's annoyance. "You really haven't changed, and I thought that maybe you would have calmed down a tad bit."
"You have 30 seconds to tell me why you're here."
Andromida held up her hands. "Guys, let's not do anything rash."
Sebastian took out a gold pocket watch, and opened it. "She should be here any minute."
"Who?" asked Roarke.
Suddenly Randee walked out of the wall calendar, and glared at Sebastian. "May I ask why you're trying to wreck my island?"
Roarke stood wide-eyed, as he looked upon his daughter.
Her hair was in a ponytail, but the white hair showed through, indicating that she was from a future of many years. There were black circles under her eyes due to lack of sleep. This was not the same woman that he put on the plane. "Miranda?"
Randee looked towards him, and smiled trying not to cry. "Daddy?" She went over to him, and they embraced.
Andromida smiled. "Sweet, you reunited your niece with her father, but tell me that that wasn't all of your plan."
Sebastian laughed. "Of course not. I'm not going to kill him, but I'll put something more lasting into his mind."
Roarke looked at his brother. "What now?"
Suddenly Randee collapsed onto the floor. Roarke rushed to her side, as did Andromida. She felt for a pulse, but could find none. "He's really done it now," she whispered.
Andromida rose slowly to her feet, keeping her eyes on Sebastian. "You've really done it now," she repeated.
"Is there an echo in here?"
Andromida looked at Sebastian, and smiled sadly. "Good bye." With that he erupted into a ball of flame, and disappeared.
Andromida looked at Roarke as he sat holding Randee's lifeless body.
Andromida shook her head. "This wasn't suppose to turn out this way."
"How can you even say such a thing?" he spat at her.
Andromida ran her fingers through her hair, and sat down beside him. "Randee wanted it this way. She approached the council about changing the past to redo the future. The future wasn't a good one."
"How can the future be anything but not good?"
Andromida lowered her head. "Sebastian ended up killing Ariel, the baby, and you. Then the council found out that he was the one who caused Randee's ship to go down, and not you."
Roarke was barely hearing her.
"The council demanded a 'Fantasy Guide' so Sebastian got Randee for the job by killing her. She didn't know anything, so Harry took over your job until she learned her stuff. Cal took over Harry's job."
Roarke seemed to be listening now.
"Then about 8 months after Randee arrived, Harry had a heart attack and died. Randee got the black suits, the powers, and the nightmare of being the host of Fantasy Island."
Roarke turned to Andromida. She frowned. "She gave up the last thing she had so you could have a 'do-over'. She knew that that was your fantasy."
He swallowed hard. "I wanted her to live her own life."
"Prospero, she wasn't living her life...she was living yours. She convinced Angel, the sprites, and even me to help her."
"Well, what good did it do? She's still dead."
Andromida shook her head. She placed her hand over his eyes.
When she opened them, they were walking down a street in New York. "I never get here, enough. Personally, I always like Manhattan during the 1920s. I'd end up going club hopping with Fisher. He was defiantly a dish back then...but he was more interested in Clia."
Roarke looked at her, shocked. "You're kidding."
She shook her head. "Defiantly not, they were a good item back then."
A clasp of thunder broke the conversation, and it started to rain. "Looks like Fisher's got another one." And she ran across the street.
Roarke ran after her, as they entered the travel agency. No one was around. "That's funny. They're always here."
"Could be they just went to lunch," answered Andromida, as she sat down in front of the typewriter. "You really need to get them better office equipment."
She pulled out a sheet, put it in and started typing. "You are in for a treat. An island where everything can come true."
Roarke cocked his head, and smiled. "I coined that phrase myself."
Andromida glared, and then smiled. "Roarke, I'm going to give you something that you've always wanted. Deep down in the very depths of your soul," and she snapped her fingers.
"Roarke," said a familiar voice
Roarke turned around, and smiled as Ariel entered carrying some papers. "My dear."
She smiled, sadly. "I don't know how this happened. Especially at my age."
"You're pregnant," he announced even before she said it.
"Yes...about 4 months. Talk about timing. I know that I should have been more careful when we..."
He kissed her mouth to prevent her from speaking.
Perched on the filing cabinet, sat Angel and Dawson. She smiled to the boy. "See, all it takes is patience and understanding. People need to be calm when these things occur."
"So why did you go hysterical when Randee dropped dead?"
Angel looked at him. "You're annoying...go somewhere."
Both spirits disappeared.
(Five months later)
"Miranda, wake up," said a familiar voice that roused her from her sleep.
Randee opened her eyes, and saw Cal. "It didn't work, Calibane," she announced with a cry.
"Who cares? Ariel needs your help. It's the baby."
Randee shot up. "Baby!" She hopped out of bed, grabbed her bag, and headed upstairs for Ariel's room.
"She's not in there," yelled Cal. "She's in the Infirmary."
Randee turned around and jumped down the stairs. "Thanks, Cal." She kissed him on the lips, and headed out the door, laughing.
"WOAH, what she get into?"
Randee ran into the Infirmary. "OK, let's have this baby."
Ariel yelled. "Let's not, and say we did."
"When did you get here?" yelled Roarke, trying to get Ariel to control her breathing.
Randee threw a pair of gloves on. "Around the same time you did, I can imagine. I think I'm going to be here for the long haul." She bent down for a closer look. "You are dilated 10 centimeters. It's time to push."
"I was supposed to get an epidural," yelled Ariel.
Randee looked over at Tula. "Let me guess, she gave you the natural child birth speech."
"Exactly," she answered moving to Ariel's other side.
"Where's Koslov?" Randee asked, right before she nearly tripped over him. "Oh for Crist's sake, what happen to him?"
Ariel's loud yell cut her off. "I can't do this...who said I could be a mother. My mother was a lousy mother."
"Well, she didn't do too badly with you," said Tula, pushing her upward, in time with the contractions.
"Ariel darling," started Roarke. "You're going to be the best mother in the world." and with that he kissed her.
Randee freed the shoulder blades, and slide the rest of the body out. She swabbed the mouth, and patted the girl on the back. The baby started to cry, immediately.
Randee looked up, and beamed. "You've gotta a girl." She wrapped the baby in a blanket, and handed her to her parents.
Tula smiled, approvingly at the young Dr. Roarke. "First baby you deliver."
"First one that meant the world to me." She took a deep breath, and walked out onto the porch.
She noticed harry walking up the steps. "Hey, she had a girl."
"That's wonderful, Miranda. I shall tell the others. Does he want me to take care of things for the day."
She shook her head. "I'll do it. Won't be a bother."
He nodded, and head back.
Roarke walked out, and touched her shoulder. "I should be cross with you. I never wanted you to risk your life to help me."
"I did it for a lot of people, Dad. Not just you," she started.
He held up a finger to silence her. "But I can't say that I'm not grateful."
She smiled.
"I remember what it was like thinking that she was dead, and the baby, and even you."
"It was no picnic for me either."
The two hugged tightly, until the plane could be heard. "Oh, I told Harry that I'd take your job today." She snapped her fingers, and appeared in the Armani suit. "Gotta go."
Andromida walked through the halls of the GA section into Jezebel's office.
"Jez, I have a delivery for you."
Suddenly the Angel appeared. "Cool, so what goody has the Goddess of Time brought me?"
Andromida handed her a cigar box. "Sebastian, he wasn't a good boy."
Jezebel took the box, cautiously. "What's in it?"
"His ashes."
Jezebel made a face. "Yuck." She opened it carefully. "Are you sure?"
Andromida frowned. "Of course I'm sure."
Jezebel turned the box around to reveal nothing."
Andromeda's heart sank. "Oh crap."
Don't get chocolate fingerprints
on the forms...