Disclaimer: Daria and associated characters are owned by MTV. This is fan fiction written for entertainment only. No money or other negotiable currency or goods have been exchanged.
This is the thirty-third John Lane story
Telephone held to her ear, Helen turned her office chair away from the computer monitor to face her assistant, who was waiting at the door. Into her phone, she said, "Absolutely. Consider it done. I抣l stay here late tonight if I have to. We抮e just happy to be in business with you. Bye-bye." She hung up the phone and muttered, "What a windbag." To Marianne, she asked, "Yes?"
Her blonde legal assistant said, "Mr. O扤eill from the high school is on the line about a parent/teacher meeting. I need to know which excuse to give him."
Reading a brief on her desk, and a little annoyed, Helen said, "Which one of my children is it about this time?"
"John."
Helen sighed in tired frustration. "The buffoon is probably upset by something John drew in the margins again." A quirky smile very briefly passed Helen's lips. "Tell him I have to do my pro bono work with the animal research lab. That should get him off of my back for a while."
Marianne giggled at the remark. "That sounds like one of your daughter's lines."
"It is. I had Daria write some new excuses for me."
"So what did it cost you?"
"Will cost me. Her plans have priority for John's birthday next month."
"She's turning into a little romantic, isn't she?"
"Don抰 tell her that."
Sensing motion behind her, Marianne said, "Yes, Helen, back to my transcriptions," and made a fast exit, slipping past Eric in the process.
He glanced over his shoulder and said, "I like how you motivate people to work hard, Helen."
Helen said, "Oh, Eric. I only try to set a good example to keep the firm number one."
Boastful, he said, "We are, and that抯 what brings me in here today."
Helen accepted a pamphlet from her supervisor that read, "Quiet Ivy Spa. Renewal and Rejuvenation for the Spirit and Soul." She looked up in mild surprise and said, "The retreat?"
Eric grinned. "It抯 your turn, Helen. The big dogs think you抮e ready."
"This is such a?" she stopped as she read one particular line. After re-reading, she asked, "And my family?"
"That's right, Helen. We want to see you wearing all three hats; wife, mother, and lawyer."
"I see."
"If we like what we see, it may just lead to hat number four: partner," he cheerfully said before heading back out of the office.
Helen watched him leave before saying in a low voice, "And what are they going to think when they learn my daughter's boyfriend lives in the next room?"
At dinner, Helen waited until John finished dishing up pasta and sauce to everyone. "Thank you, John." She then passed a pamphlet to each family member. "I have good news. The firm is sending all of us on a retreat."
Quinn happily said, "A spa? A facial would be really great."
"Don抰 get too excited," Daria said. "It抯 a spa for the soul. Damn, I could've gotten a better price for yours if I'd only waited."
"Ha, ha," Quinn said in return. "A facial wouldn抰 be a bad idea for you, either."
Daria read from the pamphlet, "We exercise your inside instead of your outside." Looking up, she smirked and said, "I bet your pancreas could sure use a workout."
"Eww, Daria! I'm not one of your weird posters."
Helen gave Quinn a questionnaire from the spa. "Girls, this retreat is about family togetherness. You get to have fun while I get to show I抦 partner material."
Daria took a questionnaire without looking at it. "Hmm, you're being graded on your family life. Are we supposed to be Alphas or Betas?"
Helen shook her head. "Sweetie, they just want to get to know us before we arrive. What's wrong with that?
"They only want to know who to include in their secret breeding program."
After Quinn laughed, Helen sighed and said, "Jake, I could use some help here."
A forkful of pasta halfway to his mouth, Jake turned to John, who was also concentrating on his dinner. "Tasty spaghetti sauce there, John!"
Helen reached across the table and moved her husband's fork down to his plate. "Jake, a little help."
"Sure Helen, great idea!"
She shook her head. "John?"
He shrugged. "Hey, could be worse. They could be sending my other family on this retreat."
Helen sat back and relaxed a bit. "Thank God for small miracles."
Daria sat, propped against the headboard of John's bed, while he sat at his computer, fiddling with a graphics program. She said, "Okay, your turn. Which animal would you rather be: a dog, a seal or a lion?"
He said, "Hmm, already said bat for you. How about卆 parasitic wasp. You know, the kind Ms. Barch told us about that can eat a caterpillar from the inside while it's still alive."
"Oookay. Now explain your choice in a brief sentence."
"I don't want to make an effort to get my food."
"I could almost believe that," Daria said while writing his answer on the form, "If I didn't know better."
"Hey," he said in defense, "Cooking around here is survival. Unless you want to eat frozen lasagna or your Dad's attempts?
"Point taken. Favorite pastime?"
"You used the 'water into wine' bit, so I'm claiming talking to a burning bush."
"Got it."
John looked over at Daria. "You realize that they're going to try to lock us up for these answers."
"If they don't have a sense of humor, they have no business poking around in people's heads."
"I'll remember that while trying to wiggle out of the straight jacket."
"Didn't Max's brother teach you how to do that?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Stage magician or something?"
"No."
"Then how did he learn?"
"Considering it was Max's brother, it was better not to ask."
"I see," Daria said with a nod. "If they do lock us up, I'm expecting you to rescue me."
John smiled and spun his chair away from the computer to look at Daria. "I can't exactly picture you as a damsel in distress, but I'll see what I can do."
揇aria! John!?Helen yelled up the stairs. Her annoyance could almost be physically felt.
The call distracted John from the computer game and before he could recover, a zombie horde had overrun his character. 揇ammit!?/p>
Sitting on a chair next to him and close enough for their legs to touch, Daria rolled away and said, 揊orget Zombie Slayer, Mom抯 on the warpath, though becoming a zombie might be a preferable option to what she might do to us.?/p>
Helen stood at the door, holding up their questionnaires. 揥ith what you two are capable of doing, did you really expect me not to look before I faxed these to Quiet Ivy??/p>
揥e were just having a little fun??John said, knowing how lame it sounded.
揤ery little.? Helen gave their questionnaires back to the teens. 揟his retreat is very important to me and I can抰 afford for some psychologist to misinterpret one of your jokes as something serious. God only knows what kind of conclusions they could抳e jumped to with what you two wrote. This time, fill them out with some real answers.?/p>
揧es, Mom,?Daria said.
John nodded and said, 慜kay, Helen.?/p>
揑 expect them before you go to bed,?Helen said before turning and leaving the room, her aggravation still readily apparent.
揙ops,?John muttered.
揃ig oops,?Daria said. She reached for the computer mouse and closed out their game. 揑t looks like we have a change of plan for the next hour or so.?/p>
揂nd I抎 almost made it through level eight.?/p>
揘ext time,?she said and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
John looked down at the form and said, 揢m匢 think we need to figure out how much we should reveal about our relationship. It抯 not exactly what you抎 find in a model family.?/p>
揑 don抰 see anything in the questions that would be revealing.?/p>
揊avorite pastime??John asked.
揇amn.? Daria thought things through, then picked up a pencil, erased her first answer and proceeded to write a replacement. 揥e抣l be honest. Let抯 face it, once we get to the retreat, you know that between five people, someone will say something and they抣l know about our relationship anyway.?/p>
揋ood point.?/p>
Daria gave him a slim smile. 揟hough under 慺avorite fantasy? you might want to leave out the d扐rtagnan bits.?/p>
揧ou抮e not going to let me live down those berry hallucinations, are you??/p>
揘ope. But hey, at least your fantasies don抰 involve webcams.?/p>
揈ww. With my luck, I抎 get fan mail from prison inmates.?/p>
Daria looked at his form. 揑 wouldn抰 mention that, either.?/p>
Squeezed into the back seat of the Lexus with Daria and Quinn, John squirmed and said, 揈ven though they抮e hideous looking, minivans have a third seat. Something you might want to consider for the safety and comfort of your passengers.?/p>
Speeding along the highway, Jake said, 揌mm. I need the Lexus to impress clients. Hey honey, how about replacing your car with a minivan??/p>
揘ot until we pay off one of our existing cars,?Helen said. 揝orry, John, but even we have limits to how much money we can spend. After all, we really weren抰 expecting another child when we bought these.?/p>
Quinn also moved around, trying to get comfortable. 揧ou know, John has a point. We抮e really squeezed together back here.?/p>
揧eah, Mom,?Daria said. 揥hy don抰 we trade places and see how much you like it back here.?/p>
揑 spent plenty of time squeezed into a back seat with Rita and Amy when I was growing up,?Helen said.
揗om,?Daria replied. 揥e抳e seen the pictures; Grandpa had one of those station wagons that had room to land small aircraft on the roof.?/p>
揧es, and thanks to Rita, the back was always full of luggage and all three of us had to squeeze into the middle seat.?/p>
揇amn,?Daria muttered.
揑 survived, and so will you.?After Jake made a hard swerve passing another car that threw everyone from side to side, Helen sighed and said, 揑f your father抯 driving doesn抰 kill us.?/p>
揙h, and I suppose you can do better,?Jake growled.
揟he fact that I抦 not one ticket away from a suspended license says that,?Helen barked.
揗om,?Daria tried to calmly say.
揟hat抯 because the cops are out to get me and won抰 stop you because you抮e a lawyer!?/p>
揇ad,?Daria again tried to calmly interject.
揘o, they don抰 stop me because I don抰 give them a reason!?/p>
揌ey!?Daria said in a voice that was not shouting, but carried through her parent抯 argument.
揥hat??Jake and Helen said.
揌ow about letting John or me drive??/p>
揘o!?they said.
揇o you have any other ideas to get us to this retreat in one piece??/p>
Daria pulled the car to a stop in front of Quiet Ivy. 揌ere we are and somewhat intact,?she said.
Trapped between her parents in the back seat, Quinn said, 揑 really need to get my license.?/p>
揧eah,?John said. 揥hy should you miss out on all the fun??/p>
Helen muttered, 揗aybe we do need to get a minivan.?/p>
A pleasant looking woman came out of the front door and approached the car as everyone crawled out. She said, 揋ood morning, I抦 Dr. Bacon and you must be the Morgendorffers.?/p>
揧es, we are. I抦 Helen; this is my husband Jake, our daughters Daria and Quinn and our foster son, John.?/p>
揚leased to meet all of you. Welcome to Quiet Ivy. If you抣l follow me, I抣l show you to your rooms while some of our staff will bring your luggage and park your car.?/p>
揌ey, that抯 some great service,?Jake said. Suspicious, he asked, 揢m, how much should we tip??/p>
Dr. Bacon smiled. 揘o tipping, please. It抯 all part of our complete client care policy.?/p>
揥ow! I like this place already.?/p>
Daria whispered to John, 揟hat way, they have the car keys so we can抰 escape.?/p>
Walking through the tastefully appointed lobby, John said, 揚retty nice looking place for a loony bin.?/p>
揑t抯 all a clever ploy to keep us off-guard,?Daria said. 揑 bet all of the people here are animatronic.?/p>
揟hat would explain the happy faces. I wonder if they have our replacements ready.?/p>
揟he basic frame, but I bet they need to scan us in person to get all of the fine details.?/p>
Last in line behind Daria and John, Quinn said, 揔eep it up and you抮e going to get all of us put away.?/p>
Sitting in the guest lounge, Daria said, 揚lenty of computers to keep us distracted.?/p>
In the chair to her left, John said, 揑 think we should handle this like a meeting with Dr. Manson at school. Get in there, let the brain docs think they抳e poked around in our heads for a while and then make a fast exit. I bet with their computer connections, Demon Slasher Online will be a blast with no signal lag.?/p>
揓ohn, there are real shrinks here, not some diploma-mill quack like Manson. We need to be careful.?/p>
揂h, now I understand the procrastination about going in for our appointments.?/p>
揈xactly. I don抰 like people poking around my head.?/p>
揑抦 not too thrilled myself, but I think I抎 rather get it over with than wait around in anticipation.?/p>
揧ou always were a 慾ump right in?kind of person.?/p>
揂nd you like to torture yourself by going into to the water inch by inch.?/p>
A man抯 voice said, 揑 believe psychoanalysis is our job, not yours.?/p>
Daria and John looked up to see a man and woman wearing lab coats. The man smiled and said, 揑抦 Jean-Michel Millepieds and I抣l be your counselor today, John."
"Hi," John said with a quick nod. There's something about that name?/i>
The woman said, 揑抦 Carolyn Millepieds, and I抣l be working with you, Daria.?/p>
Daria folded her arms. 揑 suppose it抯 a coincidence that a couple was assigned to work with us??/p>
揘o coincidence,?Carolyn said. 揧our questionnaires indicated that you were a couple in a rather unusual situation and it was decided that Jean-Michel and I would be the most appropriate people to work with you.?/p>
John turned to Daria. 揧our mother had to catch our answers and make us rewrite them.?/p>
揥e often use humor to protect ourselves,?Jean-Michel said. 揟he rest of your family has already started sessions with their counselors.?/p>
Daria stood and said to John, 揜emember, we check each other for electrodes when we抮e done.?/p>
Carolyn gently placed a hand on Daria抯 shoulder to guide her forward. 揙h, don抰 worry. We use implantable ones now. You抣l never find them.?/p>
Daria gave her a quick glance, smirked slightly and said, 揇amn.?/p>
Dr. Bacon looked across her desk and said, 揂ll right, Helen. I thought we might start off with a little word association.?/p>
Seated somewhat rigidly in a chair, Helen nodded and said, 揙kay.?/p>
揜ed.?/p>
揃lue.?/p>
揚en.?/p>
揚encil.?/p>
Dr. Bacon said, 揗agnet.?/p>
揂ttraction.?/p>
揜elaxation.?/p>
揥hen the hell can I do that? Oh, wait, can I say something else??/p>
揑t抯 okay, your answer's fine. Next word, 'Child.'" When Helen only stared ahead and failed to answer, Dr. Bacon said, "Helen?"
"Oh, sorry," she said, shaking her head to clear it. "Too many things going through my head at once."
Raising an eyebrow while writing a note, Dr. Bacon said, "Marriage."
"Hope."
On a couch, Jake stared up at the office ceiling. "What do you want me to talk about?"
Classically sitting in a chair beside the couch, Dr. Hinkel said, "Anything you want."
"I want? I thought this trip was for Helen."
"The family visit is about how your wife relates to her family. This session is about you."
"Me? Really?"
"Yes."
"Okay!"
After a long moment of silence, Dr. Hinkel said, "Discuss anything you like. You can even ask me questions if you like."
Jake rubbed his chin and said, "Hmm. Do you know any good recipes for low-fat lasagna?"
Seated on a comfortable armchair next to her counselor, Quinn said, "Hardly anybody sees how the Fashion Club booth is such a huge responsibility. I mean, people expect us to be there every day after school to help them with their fashion crises. We can barely keep up with the demand. It would be so much easier if they'd let us research Waif and the other fashion magazines during study hall, but no, Mr. DeMartino makes us do homework instead. Ugh, that's what later is for."
Priscilla, Quinn's counselor, looked at her watch and yawned, fighting to stay awake and look somewhat interested.
"And then there's Daria and John," Quinn said. "How can people that smart be so clueless? Don't get me wrong, them being together is really sweet and all, but I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm their keeper."
Priscilla cocked her head, becoming interested again. Quinn noticed the change and said, "Everyone knows they're the best behaved couple at Lawndale, if you know what I mean. But, they get so wrapped up in each other that they don't even see what's going on around them."
Daria sat on the edge of a couch while Carolyn settled down on an armchair and prepared her notepad. Daria said, "Here's the family dynamic in abstract. Mom resents that she has to work so hard and miss what's going on in her children's lives. On top of her guilt over her drive to make partner, I'm amazed that she hasn't lost it already. After being in a household full of X chromosomes for fifteen years, Dad's glad to have another guy around. But, he still swings from considering John his son to considering him the greatest threat to my feelings for Dad. So, he acts clueless, but John and I have seen otherwise. Quinn wears her popularity like a suit of armor because she抯 afraid to allow anyone to get too close and see how fragile she can be. Instead, she tries to romantically live vicariously through John and me by helping us along at every opportunity. I've finally learned not to be so defensive and let a few people get to know me and not reject them before they rejected me, like I do everyone else."
"Uh-huh. What about John?"
John sat in a chair in an almost mirror image of Jean-Michel, only with a sketchpad instead of a notepad. The counselor asked, "You wanted to get directly to the point, correct?"
"Yes."
"Very well. How do you feel about living in the same house as your girlfriend?"
"Whew, there's no beating around the bush with you, is there?"
"It sounded like you wanted direct."
"I did say that," John admitted. "Okay, living with Daria is卼he best thing that's happened to me, and the most frustrating."
"Frustrating? What are you frustrated about?"
"Do I really have to spell it out?"
"It helps me to understand if I hear it in your words."
John sighed. "Okay, it's sex. Daria's sister is in the room across the hall from her and my room is as close to Jake and Helen's as it is to Daria's. Everyone has gotten a lot better about giving us time together compared to when I first moved in, but there's always this doubt?
"Go on."
"There's also my sister. She got herself pregnant in high school and I can tell you, it sucked to be her. I don't want that to happen to Daria."
"But?
"But I find her very beautiful and very attractive. I love Daria and I wish we could do more."
Jean-Michel wrote a note and then set the pad aside. "'Do more' implies you've done something."
"Um?
"John, both of you have reached the age of consent in this state, anything you say is protected by doctor/patient privilege, and I'm not a pervert out to hear details. Just tell me what you feel comfortable saying. It sounds like you two have experimented, but not, using the common parlance, 'gone all the way.'"
"Yeah, that's a good description."
"Some experimentation is healthy and natural, and I must say your maturity is admirable."'
John looked up at the psychologist. "Thanks."
揅onsider yourself lucky,?Carolyn said before sighing. 揝ome women never do.?/p>
揙h,?Daria said, suddenly embarrassed, both at her counselor抯 hint and the realization of what she抎 just admitted.
Conscious of Daria抯 discomfort, Carolyn flipped a page on her notebook and changed the subject. 揂ll in all, you seem to be rather well balanced協(xié)or someone still trying to survive high school. Everyone抯 family has their, um, quirks. You have them and a boyfriend you deeply care about.?/p>
揢m卌an I ask you one more thing??/p>
揅ertainly, that抯 why I抦 here.?/p>
揇o you think we抮e too young to really be in love? I know the odds are really against us. First romances厀ell, are firsts. First implies more than one and most people卍on抰 find the right person on the first try.?/p>
揑 won抰 try to hide anything. You抮e right, the odds are against you. Almost everyone will have a first love and a lucky few an only. The rest of us will go through a broken heart or two and learn to pick up the pieces. I can抰 tell you what it will be for you. I don抰 think anyone honestly can. But the alternative is never knowing. I don抰 think you want that.?/p>
搾Tis better to have loved and lost,?Daria said.
揟rue, but I can say this. In times past, people married earlier in life and many did fall in love with each other at your age, so it抯 not impossible.?/p>
揑n other words, a resounding 憁aybe.挃
After checking the clock on the wall, Carolyn said, 揙ur session is almost over and you covered a lot of ground. I don抰 think I need anything else and so can set you free a little early.?/p>
Daria stood, saying, 揂fter I抳e revealed my deepest, darkest secrets to you.?/p>
With a half-smile, Carolyn said, 揟hey may be your deepest, but I don抰 think they were your darkest.?/p>
揑 still can抰 believe...? Daria then recognized what had happened, crossed her arms and said, 揙h, you抮e good. Even my mother couldn抰 have got me to, um, talk about what we talked about without some kind of extreme and probably illegal hypnosis.?/p>
揑t抯 my job to listen when a patient needs to talk. Sometimes, you need to be a little patient to get them to talk.?/p>
揧ou might be right; I needed to talk. I wouldn抰 feel comfortable telling Jodie. Saying anything to Brittany would be the same as getting on the school PA, and Monique厀ell, John抯 brother is her ex-boyfriend.?/p>
揑 can see where that would be awkward.?/p>
Quinn was just outside the counselor抯 office when John left. She looked inside and said while falling into step with him, 揑 knew I'd heard an accent. How did you get the French guy??/p>
揕ucky, I guess,?he said. "But then, I also noticed that they assigned women to the women and men to the guys."
"Oh, yeah."
They started walking toward the guest lounge. "How was your session?" John asked.
"Okay. Yours?"
"It was卍ifferent."
"Good different or bad different?"
"Different different."
"Ah. Huh?"
"You'd have to be there. I wonder if Daria's free of her shrink yet?"
Quinn pushed the lounge door open and looked in. "She's already on a computer."
"Great."
John went to Daria while Quinn looked around for someone interesting to speak to. Not finding anyone, she chose a seat that had a discreet vantage point to watch her sister.
John pulled out the chair next to Daria. "Hi."
She closed her web browser and said, "Hey."
"How'd it go?"
Daria looked down at the keyboard. "A little more open than I planned."
"Yeah, I know the feeling."
"You're too comfortable; I don't think you do."
揂fter talking about your family and us, I talked about mine and how screwed up they are.?/p>
Daria hushed her voice. 揑 talked a lot about us. In detail.?/p>
He followed suit. 揇etail? What kind of detail??/p>
揥hen Mom and Aunt Amy were drunk厰
John抯 eyes bulged. 揙h.?/p>
揝o you didn抰 say anything to your counselor??/p>
揌e let me stop at saying 憌e抳e experimented?and I was happy to change the subject to my family. Knowing you, I抦 surprised you said anything.?/p>
揧ou抮e surprised? Once I started, I kept talking. She even knows about your sneeze. I抦 glad I抦 protected by doctor/patient privilege.?/p>
揧our secret抯 safe with me, too.?/p>
揙ur secret. I know that in the long run Mom would understand, but I抦 not ready for her to find out, yet.?/p>
揧ou抮e not ready??John said. 揑抦 the one likely to lose body parts.?/p>
Daria faintly smiled and leaned over to kiss John. 揂nd I don抰 want you to lose them.?/p>
Curious, and feeling like teasing her sister, Quinn walked over and said, 揥hat are you two being so hush-hush about??/p>
Daria jumped and then said, 揘othing that you need to worry about.?/p>
揢h-huh,?Quinn said with a smirk. 揂 little nervous??/p>
揝urprised,?John said.
As a lead-in, Quinn said, 揥hat kind of dirt did you spill on Mom and Dad??/p>
John shrugged. 揘othing really bad.?/p>
Daria said, 揅ertainly nothing worse than they could say about each other in their couple抯 session.?/p>
揥hat about yourselves??Quinn asked, enjoying their flash of discomfort as she hit her main point of interest.
Daria countered, 揂ren抰 you worried about any dirt on you??/p>
揙n me??Quinn said, tapping fingers against her chest. 揟here isn抰 any.?/p>
Daria stood and whispered in Quinn抯 ear. The younger girl blushed and said, 揢m, yeah, there is that. But your session is over.?/p>
揥e still have the family session.?/p>
揧eah, I抦 curious,?John said.
Quinn quickly looked between the two. 揧ou wouldn抰!?/p>
揚robably not,?Daria said. 揃ut卛t is there.?/p>
揙kay, for now,?Quinn replied.
Daria returned to her chair. 揋ood. Now, let抯 hope Mom and Dad don抰 completely freak out on each other.?/p>
Quinn looked back toward the counselors?offices. 揑 hope so.?/p>
The entire family, plus Dr. Bacon, was seated around a table in the retreat抯 main dining room. Daria and John were to the doctor抯 left, Jake and Helen to the right and Quinn directly across the table. John looked at the plate of food that appeared special but he was sure was as lacking in flavor as any other institutional food.
揊inally, I抦 starved,?he said, digging in and finding his speculation to be correct.
Jake started eating and after a couple of bites said, 揘eeds something. Hey John, how do you think a little wasabi-bacon powder would work on this??/p>
Dr. Bacon interrupted them by saying, 揂ll right, Morgendorffers. I抳e analyzed the data from your individual sessions and I believe I know our next step.?/p>
揚edicures??Quinn hopefully asked.
揘o,?Dr. Bacon replied. 揑 was thinking about a little role playing.?/p>
揈ww! On the ground??Quinn said, though John and Daria caught the quick wink she sent their direction.
揑 mean, you will take on each other抯 roles. Act like someone else.?/p>
Quinn抯 gaze went from her parents to her sister. 揧ou mean like Daria and John act like Mom and Dad.?/p>
揤ery good,?Dr. Bacon said and looked at Daria. 揥hy don抰 you and John start??/p>
Daria shot Quinn an 揑抣l get you,?look before sighing. Letting a fraction of her mother抯 voice creep into her own, Daria said, 揑 suppose. You know, this would be a great family bonding experience, don抰 you think so, Jake?? The last was directed at John.
John was startled and said, 揙h, um卻ure honey. Hey, do you think my new clients will like my feta cheese chutney casserole??/p>
Daria said, 揚erhaps a nice lunch at厰 Daria stopped and held her hand next to her face as if holding a cell phone. 揌i Eric. You left your briefs at the strip club again? Let me take care of something at home and then I抣l call the private investigator to retrieve them.?/p>
Helen uncomfortably chuckled.
Daria rolled her eyes and moved her hand away from her face. 揂s I was saying, perhaps lunch at that new sushi place might be a good idea. Some people are a little uh, uncomfortable with avant-garde cooking.?/p>
揋reat idea!?John said. That leaves more for the rest of us! Better than your idea of meat and potatoes seven nights a week, old man!?/p>
揈xcellent,?Dr. Bacon said and then turned to Jake and Helen. 揘ow you, John and Daria.?/p>
Helen hesitated, then moved her chair closer to Jake and reached out to hold his hand. She looked around a couple of times and said, 揕ooks like we have a few minutes alone.?/p>
Jake seemed confused for a moment before he seemed to lose sight of everyone else and held up Helen抯 hand and kissed it.
Helen leaned against him and said, 揑 feel pretty lucky.?/p>
揗e, too,?Jake said, moving from Helen抯 hand to kiss her lips and then they sat back, looking contentedly into each other抯 eyes.
Without thinking, Daria reached over and held John抯 hand, feeling that her parents were beginning to understand how she and John felt about each other.
Sweetly, Jake and Helen moved into a close embrace and kissed again. Without breaking their kiss, they became visibly more excited and slid to the carpet between the chairs as everyone else looked on in surprise.
Recovering first, Daria looked down and pointedly said, 揥e are not like that.?/p>
Quinn said, 揧eah, you two are way more tasteful.?/p>
揂nd besides, the floor is too hard,?John said, earning glares from Daria and Quinn.
Dr. Bacon said, 揌elen? Jake? Hello? You抮e upsetting the other guests.?/p>
Back at home, John knocked on Daria抯 door and came in as she was unpacking from the trip. 揑f that抯 really the way your mom and dad thought about us, no wonder they were so paranoid for so long.?/p>
揘o kidding, though they did act rather sweet before their hormones kicked into overdrive,?Daria said. 揑 have to admit that after recent events, they might know us better than we thought.?/p>
揑 can see that, but we don抰 do things in public.?/p>
揥hen we notice,?Daria corrected. 揇on抰 forget the school dance where everyone was watching us and we were as oblivious as your brother to the world.?/p>
揗mm.?/p>
揧eah, mmm.?/p>
揃ut the floor is right out.?/p>
揜ight out.?/p>
Eric entered Helen抯 office and stood by her desk, reading the last of the report from Quiet Ivy. Helen looked up from the paperwork she抎 been reading and said, 揈ric, about the retreat.?/p>
揑 have the report right here,?he said.
揙h,?Helen said, looking at her desk.
Eric read from the report, 揌elen Morgendorffer exhibits a complex mix of aggressive devotion to career with an equally determined devotion to her husband and family, both of which can, at times, can only be described as 慹xtremely enthusiastic.挃
揧es,?Helen said, trying to understand what had been said.
Eric placed the report on Helen抯 desk. 揅ongratulations! You抮e just the kind of go-getter we need to show that a woman can get ahead in this firm and still have a family life. Damn, you抮e going to make us look good. We抮e putting you on the partnership fast-track!?/p>
揜eally??/p>
揧es! We抣l show that State Women抯 Association. Now, let抯 go to court and kick some ass!?/p>
揧es, Eric, just a moment.?/p>
After he left, Helen read the report and sighed. 揑 suppose I could be called worse things than, 慹xtremely enthusiastic.挃
Dialog from: Psycho Therapy by Neena Beber
Thanks to Kristen Bealer, Ipswichfan and Mr. Orange for beta reading.
March 2008