The Ghosts of Royal Cactus
Chapter Two
By Missy

SERIES: Goosebumps!
SUBSERIES: Ghosts of Royal Cactus
PART: two of five or so for this arc
Author: Missy
Email: lasfic@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13 (For language and possible memories that are a bit explicit)
PAIRING(s): L/L; S/C; S/R

DISTRIBUTION: To LW, Kai, and FG so far; any other archives are welcome to ask (Please Email Me), but disclaimers must be included, my email left intact. send a URL, and provide full disclaimers as well as credit me fully. Please inform me if you are going to submit my work to any sort of search engine. Please do not submit my work to a search engine that picks out random sets of words and uses them as key words, such as "Google"

Please contact me in order for this story to be placed on an archive, or if you want know of a friend who would enjoy my works, please email me their address and I will mail them the stories, expressly for the purpose of link trading. MiSTiers are welcomed! Please do inform me that you'd like to do the MiSTing, however, and send me a copy of the finished product. I'd also love to archive any MiSTings that are made of my work!

DISCLAIMER: Laverne and Shirley, of course, not my property and belongs to its creators.

CATEGORY: Epic Drama
CANNON/SPOILERS: Pre-Reunion Show Cannon; set five years after the series' conclusion.
FEEDBACK: PLEASE?!
SPOILLER/SUMMARY: Can Laverne trust Lenny? A return to an old disaster causes them to wonder if they were meant to be together. Also, Squiggy and Rhonda hear wedding bells.
NOTES: The first chapter in the fifth portion to this series, "The Ghosts of Royal Cactus"

****

Lenny's return was announced by the squeak of a door, a surprisingly tremulous series of steps to a bed that paralleled his fiancee's. Laverne lay where he had left her; facing an opposite wall and starting into space.

"I kinda left a ring round th' tub...I can clean it out, if ya wanna take a shower..." Annoyance finally filled Lenny's face, and he rushed over to where Laverne lay. "Vernie..." He placed an open palm on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" She cried out, and he leapt back, surprised by the violence in her tone.

"What'd I do?"

She turned to face him, "Don't ya remember?" His look spoke of innocence, and she groaned, "Len, Royal Cactus? This motel? You an' Squig an' me and Shirl..."

Suddenly, memory returned to him in a vibrant wave, "Aww, geez, Vernie." He groaned, "I thought ya forgot..."

"I ain't gonna forget that," She said steadfastly, "That's th' only time I ever got scared ta be around ya, Len...it's th' only time I thought ya wouldn't listen when I said 'no'."

Lenny winced, "I told ya I was sorry, Laverne...I feel real bad about it."

"No, ya don't! I bet you'd still chase me around th' room today."

He couldn't hold back the wolfish grin that spread across his lips, and she turned from him with a shuddering moan. "Aww, Vernie..."

"Len, don't ya get it?! You an' Squig almost..." She shuddered, "Ya almost did ta me what that guy in New York..." She couldn't finish the sentence, the weight of what lay between them too great.

Lenny was aghast, he climbed off of his bed and onto hers, "Laverne! Squig an' I only wanted ta make out wit you an' Shirl fer awhile." He tried to pry her out of the ball she'd curled herself into, but was surprised by a sharp elbow into the gut, "Oww!" He whined, dropping her arm, "Ya see?! I'm the one who oughtta be afraid a you." He rubbed at the spot she'd injured.

Laverne rolled over to stare at her fiancé, who, she had to admit, made quite an unthreatening portrait from his spot on the floor. His plaid boxers really weren't helping her case. "You? Scared a me?!" She snorted.

"Yeah!"

"Lenny, yer bigger than me, yer heavier than me an' yer taller than me!"

"An' ya got a right hook that could break a guy's nose!" Lenny insisted, tucking a knee up and leaning on it. "I'd bet on ya in any fight!"

"Wit a girl," Laverne reminded him, "Not a guy, Len."

It was slowly beginning to dawn on him that their last night in Nevada had damaged her trust in him, and, somehow, she had overcome it in the ensuing years. Only by returning to the motel room did the past return to her. His engagement was in jeopardy; fear wiped away the exhaustion that had taken over his being, "Laverne, I ain't ever gonna hurt ya."

She gently, cautiously slipped her fingers across his wrist, "I wanna believe that."

"Why can't ya?" He said, "I ain't jumped on ya or grabbed ya or nothin'.."

"Because..." She groaned, "Len, I'm gonna be wit ya every day of my life when we're married. An' even though I wanna..."

"Vode-o-do."

"Right..." He bit his palm and she laughed, "I wanna know that yer gonna understand when I tell ya no. An' I'm gonna tell ya no sometimes, Len."

He seemed surprised, then grasped ahold of the subject, "Ah, like those ladies in Payton Place." He tried out his fancy British accent once more, "Charles, I have a headache tonight."

She laughed, "Nah. Sometimes I might get real tired, or one of us could be real busy, an' fer about a week a month I don't think yer gonna wanna..."

"Why?"

"Uh...Ever seen those commercials where a girl talks about feelin' 'not-so-fresh'?" Lenny nodded, then his eyes widened.

"Eww!" He whined, childishly.

"Well, all girls have one!" Laverne protested, crossing her arms over her middle, "At least when we're a certain age. Ya do know that, don't ya, Len?"

He nodded, "I just don't wanna think 'bout you...ya know..."

"Havin' a period?" He nodded, and she laughed, "I guess I'm gonna be the one ta tell our kids 'bout the facts of life. I ain't lettin' someone like Tony Piccone..."

Lenny's eyes bugged out, "Tony Piccone told ya about the facts of life?" Laverne nodded, "Why didn't ya ask me?"

"Len, ya didn't even know what a bath was when we was twelve!" He pouted, and she slipped into submission, "aww, cmmere." She opened her arms, and he hesitated.

"Yer sure?" She nodded, and he crawled up the bed and into her embrace. "You can tell the boys."

"Fine," He blanched, "Waitaminute; we ain't even talked about kids yet."

She brushed his lips with a pointed index finger, "I think we can wait on that."

He spared a glance between their bodies and rose a brow, "You sure?"

She snuggled against him, trying to ignore the suddenly overpowering effect of the chemistry they shared, "I made it this far without goin' for it...Do you mind waitin' till our weddin' night?"

Lenny smiled, tremulously, and nodded, even though she could tell his body was screaming a loud, firm 'no'. That, more than anything, made her feel better. The best thing she could do was release him, and he crawled away like a scalded dog.

"Ya want me ta put in a wake-up call?" Lenny asked.

She squirmed out of her jacket and shoes, then afforded him an odd look, "Think they have 'em here?"

He shook his head, and she nodded, yanking the blanket over her head.

"Love you." He said.

"Love you." She echoed.

He turned the light off and, together, they slipped into a blissful, deep sleep.

But when they awoke, she found herself in Lenny's arms.





Back To Part 1

Back To Part 3






















(Close This Window To Return To LAS Fic)